My Heart Won't Let Go
by LuminaHan
Summary: When thirteen year old Stella Nox Fleuret visited the royal family of Noctis Lucis Caelum, she realized that they share something more than a birth horoscope. The two children discover that they were both blessed by the eyes of Etro, a divine light that allows them to see the fate of the dying. The two face a near death tragedy that shadows and intertwines their fates into tragedy
1. Chapter 1

**Title: MY HEART WON'T LET GO**  
**Pairings/Characters: **Noctis / Stella  
**Genre: **Tragedy / Romance  
**Summary: **When Noctis and Stella were gifted by the Goddess Etro, of the power to see the light of expiring souls, they never imagined that this gift was also a curse. A curse which would part their love as enemies.

**Warnings: **This novel was written on November of 2013: Which means that this game wasn't even released when I started writing. Thus, this novel will be continuously re-edited to match the original story as much as possible (without damaging the flow of the novel) as soon as new trailers or information about the game is released.

**Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy XV (Versus XIII) is owned by Square Enix. No copyright infringement intended.

**Note: **As there was very little information of the canon story I could work with, most of this story is dominated by my own predictions and imagination of what FFXV will be about. By the time this story is released (which is likely to be years ahead of when I first started writing this), my version of FFXV will be very different, but I do not intend to change the major plot points or themes of this novel. I want to retain my own vision of this fan-fiction as well as staying true to the canon names of characters and places as much as possible.

In other words, if you are reading this by the time that FFXV has already come out, then please be aware that this story is almost like an Alternate Universe fan-fiction of the original.

Also, because FFXV is part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis universe, I have done a historical crossover between this story and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

I made Noel and Serah ancestors of Noctis because I am a Noerah shipper xD

In this way, this tale is connected heavily to FFXIII

* * *

Thirteen year old Stella Nox Fleuret viewed out of her car window.

She had just awoken from a drowsy sleep in the limousine, to admire the skyscrapers and neon signs up in the high lights of the sky.

The solid moon etched its pure white boldness on to the surface of the dark night.

She straightened her white formal frock on her lap with her small silk gloved hands.

Her stomach evoked the calling of anxious butterflies as she secretly count downed to her arrival at the Castle of the Grand City of Lucis.

Tonight would officially mark her first visit to the Lucis Kingdom.

"Lucis is the most powerful country in the history of the Fabula Nova Crystallis." Stella read aloud from a thick encyclopedia she brought along to combat her boredom.

"In the world of the Fabula Nova Crystallis, magical crystals raged war, conflict and division among countries because of their lust for state power. Once upon a time the world of the Fabula Nova Crystallis was one nation: where all the people were united under a resilient desire for peace and harmony. However, the darkness of humanity could not prevent the spiral of war that separated the world into five countries; Accordo, Solheim, Tenebrae, Niflheim and Lucis. Out of all the nations, one stood out to rise above them all. The Kingdom of Lucis acquired wealth, prosperity and technological advancement through the wisdom of the royal bloodline of the Caelum family, who still reigns the throne to this date. While the other nations pursued military weapons and power for ongoing turbulent wars, the sovereign rulers and loyal people of Lucis poured their soul and energy into defending the one and only magical crystal they had. The passage of centuries of time has allowed the existence of only one crystal of power left in this universe, which now lies deep beneath the heart of Lucis."

Stella shut her heavy encyclopedia with a thud sound emulating a miniature thunder-clap.

"You are already showing the promises of what it means to be the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Fleuret." Chuckled Stella's father proudly.

"I'm proud of the way you have inherited the noble trait of the aristocratic House of Tenebrae, which is to take resourcefulness everywhere you go." He patted her blonde head with a genuine praise.

Stella smiled a childish grin.

She couldn't help but pervade excitement through every nerve of her body.

Stella had always accompanied her parents, when they traveled to settle political and international affairs with the royals and aristocrats from other nations.

But it was only recently that the House of Tenebrae decided to establish a pact of truce with the royals of Lucis.

Even a girl as young as Stella knew; today would make headlines as the politically historical moment to hope for further peace and alliance between the two nations.

She gleamed with a mixture of emotions as this was the first time she would visit a technologically advanced state; full of tall, sleek skyscrapers.

Accordo, Solheim, Tenebrae and Niflheim had their own touch of grand and medieval glamour, but it was nothing like what Lucis was.

Lucis was the city that never slept.

Stella was star struck in her car as she looked out into the night life of Lucis.

The lights shone brighter than the new-born stars in all directions.

No matter where she diverted her eyes, crowds of people busily hasted about even in the hours of bedtime.

"Mother look!" Stella could not hide her frenzy within.

"Yes I know dear, I was just as blown away as you were on my first visit. Lucis sure is a godly given beauty." charmed Duchess Fleuret gently.

When the black car ceased to a slow halt, Stella was beyond her awe.

They passed through gigantic gates and walls that were almost twenty meters high above the tiled concrete ground.

The gateway was made from glossy, raven colored marble stones that seemed impenetrable.

She passed through endless repeating lines of first-class military soldiers with guns on their sides who stood as still as a statue.

They saluted autonomously in their firm positions by the entrance.

Stella too, lived in a mansion full of security soldiers and bodyguards; but she didn't have titanic walls, fences and turret towers to defend her home as if it were a sacred fortress.

"Whoever lives within these walls is clearly above royalty." speculated her young mind.

"Whose house are we visiting Father?" asked Stella with a very respectable manner.

"We are visiting the Castle of Lord Regis, the King of Lucis. I know you have visited castles of other states, but Stella my darling, when you visit the castle of the most powerful man in Crystallis, all those other visits will be like comparing a plain muffin to a triple decked chocolate cake." Chortled Duke Fleuret.

Stella didn't take this as a joke. After all she had read about Lord Regis and the history of the Kingdom of Lucis, she knew her father wasn't exaggerating about the might of King Regis and his Kingdom.

But strangely, she never _really_ wished that she would one day visit the Castle of Lucis.

She never dreamt it would happen _for real_ in a million years.

Stella knew early on, from when she was a toddler, that her Father was a diplomat who dealt with political and international relations between the five countries.

The daughter of the Duke of Tenebrae, often followed him on his expeditions and treaty visits overseas, as her father thought it would widen her horizons to educate her to become a royally fit lady of aristocracy.

And indeed those visits did do what they promised.

But as she studied about the royal family of Lucis and their dynasty, she learnt to fear the sovereignty of Lucis.

She felt that somehow, the hegemony of Lucis was a threat and a danger to the peace of the world.

That's why she never begged her parents to visit this Kingdom, in spite of its luring awe and glamour.

"That's why they refused to tell me the exactness of the destination until now." She thought.

Stella felt all the muscles in her body constrict to a tense hold as she felt the jingle of energy running through her veins.

She had heard that King Regis was not quite the typical ascendancy, like the other kings of nations.

Apparently, King Regis was good to both his Kingdom and to his neighbors.

But she couldn't forget the hidden history of Lucis and how it had maintained its hold of the last crystal left in the world.

"This time, you won't be so lonely Stella." Her mother interrupted her wild worries.

"The heir to King Regis is Noctis Lucis Caelum. He was born on the same constellation star sign Eridanus as you are. We will be staying in his castle for few weeks or more this time, so you can become friends with the future King of Lucis. Ahh… if only you two were a bit older, who knows what blessings young love could bring to our family's honor..." Sighed Duchess Fleuret.

"Oh honey, don't give our daughter false hopes so early. After all, Stella also needs to remember that Noctis is the only heir to the throne of Lucis. He will probably end up marrying the princess of Niflheim, to create an alliance with the second most powerful Kingdom of Crystallis. But don't be disappointed Stella, for I will surely find a fine Duke. Or if we are blessed by Etro, even a Prince from an Arcadian empire to the likes of Tenebrae's rank and alliance. I heard the Prince of Solheim had quite a fancy for you the last time we visited. Although he is a bit older than you..." Stella's father trailed off to himself, muttering deep in his own thoughts.

That's what Stella liked about her father.

He was always informing her realities of the world, regardless of her age and regardless of breaking a young girl's fairy tale fantasy.

"But darling, just look at Stella's god given features! We all knew from the moment she opened her blue eyes that she wasn't just an exceptional beauty. She was one of a kind! Her good looks and personality have made a reputation all by itself at such a young age already. And as she grows older, her beauty will only blossom even further. I think one day, she will make a fine queen." Exclaimed the Duchess.

"Oh yes she has inherited your loveliness and I do agree I have never seen a girl quite as pretty and elegant as our daughter." Laughed the Duke in parental pride.

Stella just smiled at having such proud parents.

But her mind was dozing off somewhere else.

Whoever this future throne holder of Lucis was, she could not think of him as her equal.

How could she?

After all those stories she had heard of their victorious tenure and gripping control they had over others…

"Stella get ready to greet the King of Lucis, your Highness Regis with your most gracious courtesy. We're here." Commanded Stella's mother.

"Yes mother." Stella obeyed in her direct and affirmative voice.

When the car came to a halt, they saw a long, high row of wide staircases that were almost ten feet wide.

It was aligned with red carpet, that led up to the grand door of the castle.

Two enormous statues of winged angels in tears, guarded the main entrance at each side.

King Regis was waiting at the foot of the stairways with his numerous bodyguards.

His age enamored posture and grace; with a well tamed moustache and dark blue-grayish hair pulled back into a neat slick.

His sky blue eyes demanded the look of power and authority in all its rights.

The sleek, expensive black tuxedo suit paired with leather gloves made him look every bit the King he was renowned to be.

"Welcome! Duke and Duchess of Fleuret of Tenebrae! You are most welcome at Lucis." King Regis greeted sociably and casually, which threw his royal first appearance out of character.

"Your Highness, King Regis Lucis Caelum, we are most honored to be invited to such an excellent and advanced country." Bowed Stella's father.

The Tenebrae family all bowed down to the King of Lucis, but Regis unexpectedly returned the bow.

"I am sorry to inform you that my son Noctis... has refused my orders to greet you at the entrance. It is our custom to greet every noble guest courtly at the entrance, but my son… ahh… let's just say that he is not as mature as your lovely daughter… what is your name, beautiful girl?"

"Stella. Stella Nox Fleuret, my lord." Charmed Stella graciously.

"Ahh… a name as pretty as your sparkling eyes. Indeed you must have been named after her eyes I presume? Of the stars…" King Regis questioned Duke Fleuret.

It seemed that even royalties and nobles had to crack the ice somehow during their first encounter.

"Oh, not quite my lord. We counseled the church's seeress before her birth. They gave us the name with astrological prophecies."

"My, oh my!" clapped King Regis, again acting out of his lordship behavior.

"That is exactly how my son Noctis was named! We were told that he was a child of the night, by the Seer of the Goddess Etro too. Star and Night… what a pair you shall be within your stay." King Regis winked at Stella.

"Please, come inside, dinner is ready. You must have an appetite after such a long trip."

The bodyguards of Lucis, all dressed in black suits instead of the usual metal armor like the other nations, ushered the Fleuret family inside the walls of the castle.

A grand entrance, accompanied by an endless row of water fountains, that created waterfalls on each sides of the walls that aligned the entranceway.

It exuberated a cooling and refreshing sound and buzz to welcome the guests into the castle.

The mansion that Stella lived in Tenebrae was grand in itself, but it was nothing compared to this.

The castle was tapered with luxurious jewels and marbles that decked angelic statues and paintings.

Dark and ancient gargoyles seemed to glare back at Stella, as she followed King Regis down the long hallway.

The castle frightened Stella; as it had an array of pitch-blackness to it, as if it were the castle of a wealthy vampire in exile since the beginning of time.

The lights above the ceilings were dimly lit in a gothic fashion, that embraced both the modern and stylish architectural characteristics of Lucis.

Stella could not conceal the admiration for beauty burrowed in her thoughts, as they finally reached the dining hall.

Although other parts of the Castle were lit up by candles in the night, the dining hall was lit up by a wide spacious window that screened the city lights of Lucis.

"It must be so grand to gaze at the metropolitan night life... while you sip your evening wine, Lord Lucis." Complemented the Duke.

"Ah… your eyes never get tired of the view; it's just that the lights sometimes irritate them instead." The King seemed to reveal more of his comical self with ease, as time went by.

The golden plates that sat on the grand table was full of lobsters, vegetables, fruits and sweet deserts that aroused their appetites.

They ate and complimented the Chef, while Stella's parents went down to business with the King of their political talk.

Stella drowned the adult conversation away from her attention.

She was used to not engaging or interrupting adults in the midst of political business.

It was like second nature to her at this age.

Stella's disinterest in anything other than her meal plate, dissolved as the giggles and shouts of young boys echoed near the dining hall.

A total of five teenage boys dressed in black, laughed and tackled each other like immature children in playschool.

Stella's attention concisely focused on to one person.

It was him.

Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, the last heir to the throne of Lucis.

Noctis was a young boy of thirteen, the same age as Stella, but slightly taller.

He was sporting a black short-sleeved hoodie, Capri shorts and black shoe laced sneakers.

An attire too seemingly casual for the likes of his dynasty.

A thin, pale boy with sky blue eyes that contrasted along with his dark and blue-grayish hair, that spiked in unsymmetrical and messy diversions.

It gave the boy a dark and edgy look about him.

However, Stella noted his mature, penetrative and mysterious gaze that was beyond his child age.

The way his eyes specked insertion towards her, unsettled her mind.

She was utterly demeaned by the aura of his royalty, which silently screamed his rightful position to be every bit the prince that he was born to be.

Noctis stopped laughing as soon as his eyes met Stella's.

His pals beside him; four of them were similar to his age, a few slightly older and bigger than he was.

The group of boys as a whole, looked very athletic and agile for their typical age group.

An evidence of Lucis's vigorous physical training of their royalty, so that they were capable of defending themselves whenever danger and invasions struck.

"Boys! You're late! Come down sensibly and greet the Fleuret family of Tenebrae before you sit down for dinner. And Noctis, I'm going to have a word with you late for disobeying my orders." Lectured the King in a strictly manner.

The boys lined up in a military fashion with tense and straight postures instantly, imitating the soldier guards outside the castle.

Everyone except Noctis, gave their full courtesy and royal greeting to the Tenebrae family.

Noctis gave his half-assed bow for what seemed like a deliberately timed lateness of his courtesy.

However, even as Noctis bowed to greet Stella in a careless fashion, Stella couldn't help notice the sharp and penetrating peep that steamed from the spoilt young prince's sky blue eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

"Come hither my boy." ordered King Regis the CXIII.

The four boys surrounding Noctis left the dining hall autonomously, without a word as they knew they weren't eligible to join tonight's dinner as usual.

Noctis's comrades couldn't join him for dinner when there were special, honorary foreign guests.

Noctis bit his lips as if he were trying to mask his desire for disobedience against his father.

He grimly sat right next to his father, where he was positioned to sit to face Stella directly across the dining table.

Noctis started swirling his green soup in endless circles without a word.

King Regis and Stella's parents started diving into the world of adult politics again, a topic of conversation that interested neither Noctis nor Stella throughout dinner.

Noctis's eyes were intentionally locked on target primarily on his fish meal, but he didn't seem to be particularly hungry, as he wasn't too eager to scoffle his food down.

"Prince Noctis, rumors from Tenebrae have informed us that you are quite the swordsman, at such a young age!" adulated the Duke.

"I was wondering if it were the Lucis tradition to train their royals from birth more vigorously than the military soldiers at Tenebrae. Or is it because you take after your father's own sword mastery?" Stella's father directed his tribute towards the young prince.

Noctis gaped his mouth in his own inaudible stillness, frankly unable to answer the question that was individually directed at him.

Lord Regis jerked out a mediated awkward laugh to apologize for his introverted son.

"I apologize. My son is shy around adults. He's a cheery boy around his comrades, but when it comes to guests… well let's say he seems to be lacking some... confidence... and royal courtesy at this stage." baffled Regis.

"Ah… no worries sire. Our Stella too, is rather silent around adults." smiled the Duke.

"As a matter of fact, our tradition is to teach our children in the art of magic, summoning, swordsmanship and armory as soon as they can walk! Although our Noctis is quite unusual… he's ambidextrous so he prefers to train with a multitude of swords of different lengths, rather than resorting to one weapon…" Regis eyed his son with half concern.

"A multi-gifted young lad you are prince! _Multi-weapons_? I am very impressed at such a skill. Our own Stella too is trained in swordsmanship, but only for self-defense. She has focused on using the rapier as her main weapon of choice, quite recently in fact." The Duke savored on his steak eagerly.

Stella looked up from her plate towards the prince for the first time since she sat down.

The thirteen year old boy had the arched eyebrows of a much mature adult, but his sky blue eyes were still like rounded marbles, like the child he still was.

While Stella was peeping at Noctis's solid features, her eyes came into contact with Noctis's own gaze.

Noctis set his sight firmly downwards on the table, as he tried to hide the rush of the warm blood in his cheeks blush on his pale skin.

Noctis leaned for a glass of cold water in brusqueness, quite unlike his aristocratic upbringing.

"Lady Stella." King Regis spoke her name as if it were the name of a delicate exotic flower.

"What are your first impressions of Lucis? I assume this is your very first visit to our Kingdom." King Regis's mouth curved into a gentle smile.

"Yes your majesty." Stella humbled her sweet voice.

"The city is clad with endless skyscrapers where lights never die out in the night... I find the city very poetically mesmerizing... I can't really put it into words..." said Stella as she wiped her mouth cautiously with a white napkin.

"Well thanks for that sweet compliment, little Miss Fleuret." said King Regis.

"Are there any questions you had about the city you wanted to ask the King? After all, you and Noctis are at an age when curiosity of the world peaks to reach the skies. If there is anything I could answer, ask away my lady, ask way." charmed the CXIII King kindly.

Stella straightened up her back to form a horizontal posture.

This was a moment that Stella had never even anticipated of tonight's evening dinner.

It was a glorious opportunity; to ask questions directly to the _King himself._

Her heart flipped a double take as she cleared her throat.

"Well if you will allow me, my lord. There was one thing I was always inclined to inquire..." Stella approached her question carefully.

Stella glanced at her father to seek approval of her caution.

Her father gave her a silent nod of approval from his eyes.

The duke believed that she was sensible not to create drama and conflict around tonight's guest.

He had raised her strictly enough for her to know the limits and boundaries she must not cross towards the most powerful man in the Crystallis world.

"Well…" started Stella with a detective trembling of her throat.

Even Noctis, who only managed to silently nibble tiny portions of his vegetables, as if _he_ were the ill dinner guest, focused his attention back to Stella.

"I had come across an ancient scripture at our library in the mansion. It was about the legend of the Goddess Etro, and her divine will to maintain what was lost in humanity. It was a rather daunting and long text… but to summarize it, it was something along the lines of how 'The last heir to the throne of Lucis will once again re-awaken the sleeping dead, the Somnus with the power of the light given from the unseen realm.' I was confused about what this myth_ meant_… so I was wondering if your majesty knew anything about this prophetical legend, as all of my professors have claimed that they have never heard of such a legend." As soon as Stella finished her question diligently, it seemed as if the hall was drenched in a black hole of muted silence.

Nobody spoke a word or even moved their knives and forks.

Stella quickly realized that she had made the most atrocious mistake of her life.

Her question and curiosity had decided to betray her and her family name and honor, by offending the King of Lucis in some way or another.

Stella pleaded her gaze to her father for help.

Getting scolded by her parents, will be an issue she will think about later.

Right now, she needed professional aid from her parents, _very quickly_.

Duke Fleuret cleared his throat, ready to deliver his sincere apology for his immature daughter.

"My Lord Regis… I apologize from the bottom of my-" the Duke began to speak, but Regis cut his apology by raising his right hand to stop him.

Lord Regis gave Stella an emotionless look for a split second, before he started _laughing_.

His laugh at first seemed deliberately simulated.

But as his comical and noble voice broke out into laughter, it soon developed into a frenzy of real and genuine hysteria, as if Stella had just told him the funniest joke in existence.

The House of Tenebrae held their utensils in mid-air, as their soups dropped one drop at a time back into their plates.

They could not make out whether to laugh along with the King's alienated fits of hysteria, or maintain their seriousness to apologize repeatedly.

"Ah… Stella my darling…" the King's baffled laughter slowly decelerated to regain his royal nobility.

"My, my, am I surprised that you of all people have picked the apple from the forbidden tree; the most ancient and secretive myth in Lucis." spoke King Regis with delicacy.

"Even my own son, has never heard of this rare legend of Lucis… but it's more the merrier that we hear the retelling of this legendary tale together. There is no need for apology. After all, it was my proposal in the first place to welcome any inquiries from a foreign aristocrat. I shall tell you all about the legend of Somnus in greater detail, but first, I think it's time for desert!"

The waitresses that stood firmly with napkins and wine glasses at the side of the dining hall immediately gathered their own reinforcements.

The royal servants of the castle rushed into the dining table to clear the dinner plates and leftovers, in spotless etiquette manners.

Stella eyed her parents again to re-affirm them of her unspoken apology of what she might have just done.

Her mother passed onto her a scornful and straight lip, as if to warn Stella of her pre-planned grounding for the next week… or even for the rest of her life.

The waitresses dressed in purple vest and ties bought out an exquisite array of fresh fruit platters, cheesecakes and creamy cr_ê_pes full of colorful ice creams.

"Oh! Gracious to our master chef, who have brought out the staples of Lucis's treats! Cr_ê_pes!" clapped the King as if he were a commoner.

The Tenebrae family all thanked the chief and the King before they poked their forks into their cr_ê_pes.

"So Stella…" the lord casually began.

"The legend of Somnus as you know, isn't a very well-known tale. In fact, you are the very _first_ and special foreigner who has mentioned this myth to me in my life!" exclaimed the Regis brightly.

Stella's father ate his cheesecake in silence, unsure of whether or not to be proud of the fact that his daughter was the first to know of what seemed like a dead and forbidden legend.

"Not even the nobles, aristocrats or even the _royals_" Regis glanced at Noctis for a reference.

"Know of this tale. As you have assumed, it is a tale that has become not a prophecy, but a fantastical myth. But there is also another reason I haven't even told Noctis about this tale during his bedtime stories." King Regis spoke in a soft and serious tone for the first time.

Noctis stopped picking at his cr_ê_pe to give his father his full attention, for the first time that evening.


	3. Chapter 3

"The Somnus legend follows one of the oldest mythologies of this world. It is said that when the almighty God Bhunivelze, created the Goddess Etro to guard the Realm of the Dead, he gave her no power of her own." The King started telling his tale as his put his fork down on the marble table.

"Etro, who felt a divine love for humanity, bestowed both her blessing and her curse upon her chosen human entities called the L'Cie. These L'Cie were to be predestined by the divine to see the light of the expiring souls. In other words, they will have the power to see the souls leaving this world into the Unseen World." Regis paused to eye his sullen son.

"But the power of the L'Cie didn't stop with just the ability to see the light."

Noctis didn't take his eyes off his father.

The sound of forks gently clattering the plates had stopped while the waitresses left the hall to respect the King's privacy.

King Regis continued his tale with a brisk sip of his red wine.

"It is written that if these L'Cie willingly accepted their fate, then the Goddess will give them in exchange a more destructive power, one that will be unlike any other power that humans possess. The specific details of what these powers are… well… they have been ripped away from the sacred book."

"_Ripped?!"_ Stella couldn't help but blurt out her horror.

"Stella!" gasped her mother in shock.

"Show your manners to the King! My lord… I apologize on behalf of my daughter's lack of deference… I am ashamed deeply of not raising her with more courtesy your majesty." pleaded Stella's mother earnestly.

"Ah… no need for apologies Madam. After all, she is just only a little kid." snickered King Regis.

"Yes Stella." King Regis diverted his speech directly towards Stella.

"The legend of Somnus was passed down from father to son from the rise of the Kingdom of Lucis from its earliest days. The legend was passed down both orally and textually, through an ancient book of scriptures made of parchments. The book that holds the legend is spoken in riddles, but the last pages of the legend have been ripped apart from the book since my great grandfather's rule." The king hummed his voice lower as if he were telling a forbidden secret.

"Father." It was the first time that Stella heard Noctis's voice.

His high-pitched voice was still child-like, but there was no doubt of the faintest trace of a deeper voice, the signs of puberty that was creeping itself to its surface.

"You mentioned that there was a reason that you never mentioned this legend during my bedtime stories… why so…?" the young prince inquired with a stretch of luridness in his articulation.

"Because Noctis, this is a legend that is almost dead from the tracks of our empire's history. And because this legend is a very abstractedly philosophical myth, I was postponing telling you the story when you were older, when you could better understand what it meant. As you can see, even in my old age, I haven't a clue of what this myth actually means, or who it is referring to.

In the future, maybe you will have better luck with deciphering the mystery behind it."

The king ruffled Noctis's long messy spikes with his rough hand as a sign of his parental affection.

Noctis looked displeased, as if he highly doubted his father's deep expectations.

"Well! Enough of the old legend storytelling! So Duke Fleuret, like I was saying earlier about the lobbyists in Accordo, it seems that they may need more…" Stella and Noctis both automatically muted the trail of political business talk that their parents started engaging in.

"Thank you for the meal." Noctis sprang up from his high chair and bowed towards the adults who were in the midst of their political debate.

"Duke and Duchess Fleuret, I apologize for my discretion earlier on. I hope you will enjoy your stay at Lucis." Noctis's unrevealed royal conduct seemed to have awoken from its deep slumber as he displayed his utmost dignity.

Noctis glanced one final look at Stella, a look of decoding as if he were trying to reveal who Stella really was beneath her well-groomed canvas of elegance.

The sound of Noctis's high top sneakers slapping the marble floor echoed into the deep hallway as the Tenebrae family bowed a short farewell at the sudden leave of the young prince.

"Stella. You should get back to bed too." said the Duchess.

"Yes mother." obeyed Stella diligently.

"Lord Regis CXIII, it was a real pleasure to be invited to such a glamorous country. I once again apologize for any transgression I may have made on my part. I bid you good night my lord." Stella curtsied her hands to hold up her white dress as she gave the King one final royal bow.

"Good night young Stella. And don't worry about the legend I mentioned earlier on. I have not been offended in any way. Just a little surprised at how knowledgeable you are." smiled King Regis.

King Regis called for the chamber maids dressed in lacy maid uniforms to accompany Stella to the bedroom where she was assigned to stay privately, a separate chamber from her parents.

Three maids who resembled the nannies that Stella had in her own house ushered Stella out from the well-lit dining hall into the dark and endless corridor.

The maids carried sleek candlesticks to light their pathway in the revenant night that dominated within the walls of the castle.

The only light that squeezed passed the walls of the castle was the dim, blue moonlight streaming from the high window sills.

Stella sensed the ghostly whisper from the repetitive statues of winged gargoyles and beastly monsters. The still statues seemed to be displaying their sharp teeth and claws towards Stella, as if they had waited for her as their prey for centuries.

The group climbed up a long spiral of medieval stairways that were plastered with pitch black bricks and holy paintings of divine gods and goddesses.

At last, they reached the upper floors of the castle, where all the most royal guests of the castle stayed.

Stella was in awe as she entered a spacious chamber of gothic monochromatic wall papers that compassed a king sized four poster bed made of black marble metals and white lacy duvet.

The three maids had already unpacked Stella's luggage since she arrived, and everything from the bed sheets to Stella's silky white nightgown was washed clean and ready for Stella to use.

The maids offered to wash Stella for her, but Stella refused in dismay.

How old did they think Stella was, to think that she still needed _assistance_ to take a bath?

"Well, then let us dry and comb your hair after your bath. It is rather long for you to do it alone." offered one of the maids.

Stella accepted their kind offer.

As Stella soaked herself in the hot bubble bath full of colossal mirrors and contemporary black tiles of geometrical patterns, she began to wonder why everything in this castle had to be so _dark and brooding_.

To be honest, the castle was more monumental and awe-inspiring than anything she had ever seen.

But the _black_ atmosphere along with the robotic men in ties and suits that roamed in and out through the vast hallways _frightened _her.

After Stella stepped out from the circular tub of hot water, the maids sat her down in front of the gothic dressing table that centered a clear reflection of Stella's wet portrait.

Two of the maids exited Stella's room at the gesture of the older maid's hand.

The older maid started to web a wooden comb through Stella's long, straight and blonde hair that still dripped with water.

"My… what starry eyes you have! It seems as though you have a constellation in the works in those eyes." praised the grey haired maid, as Stella stared back at her own reflection in the mirror with an empty expression.

"Thank you…" said Stella without much thought.

"Miss…?" Stella inquired at the intention of thanking her personally.

"Oh! Just call me nanny while you are here! I've worked for the Caelum family for as long as I can remember. Family tradition you see passed down from many generations to serve the royal bloodline. Our family might as well have become a part of the royal family." joked the old maid.

"Yes nanny." answered Stella as she studied the maid's kind laugh lines.

"Lord Regis assigned me to look after you as my first duty over the past few weeks of your stay, so you feel most at home. If there is anything you need, or any questions you have, just ask nanny, and she will come running to you as quick as a fairy tale godmother." The nanny's friendly voice echoed through the empty, opulent room that was overcasted in the lightless atmosphere.

Stella couldn't allow her shoulder muscles to chill as the hair brush pulled the temples of her hairline

She was well aware that no one meant any harm in this castle, but she could subconsciously feel that the castle was somewhat clouded from not just material light, but the brightness of _something._

_Something was missing._

"Nanny…" whispered Stella.

"Yes dear?" replied the nanny.

"Do you mind if I ask… Where… is… Queen Caelum?" Stella was surprised by her own uncontrollable lips as she battled to restrain her own intrusiveness.

The gentle yanking of Stella's hair halted as quickly as a lightning bolt.

"You mean Prince Noctis's mother…?" the nanny's wise voice seemed to subtly vibrate out of character.

"Yes… I noticed that she was absent during our dinner…" trailed Stella.

A blackout of both sound and movement followed the echo of Stella's words.

"Yes…" mumbled the nanny.

"Is it… too much for me to ask…?" Stella couldn't hold back the sign of eagerness in her voice.

The nanny's gentle brushing had stopped as if her hands were suddenly paralyzed.

"Lady Stella… I know you are young and that you may have a lot of things you wonder about during your first visit in Lucis." The nanny paced her words at an exact and constant speed.

"But some things… are best to be left _unasked and unsaid_" the nanny asserted her own authority onto Stella for the first time.

"I'm sorry nanny…" croaked Stella softly.

"It's okay Lady Stella… I understand… being young and all…" assured the nanny kindly.

Stella decided to drop the subject once and for all, after all, her eyelids were starting to droop over her vision.

The nanny's combing and towel patting soon ceased.

"I want to go to bed now. Thank you for your assistance." said Stella as she walked towards the bed.

"You're welcome Lady Stella. Good Night. I will see you tomorrow."

The nanny carried her candlesticks to leave Stella tucked in her warm bed covers in the quiet, shady bedroom all by herself.


	4. Chapter 4

The sun twinkled on Stella's golden locks as she felt her sleepy consciousness recollect itself upon the white pillow.

The maid had let her sleep in for the first day, assuming that she needed a rest after a long car ride.

Stella stretched her strained shoulders as she headed towards the bathroom.

After washing herself up, the nanny entered the room just in time to dress her in her new dress; a black and modern frock suited to fit the gothic atmosphere of the castle.

"It's a present from King Regis." said the nanny as she tied the back ribbons of the dress on her back.

Stella tied her blonde hair in a black ribbon and headed downstairs to the dining hall for breakfast.

"Your parents and the King have already left the castle for business at the central tower in the city." informed the nanny as they walked through the long hallway.

At the foot of the entrance of the dining hall, she heard the chatter of boys joking and eating around the breakfast table.

The morning sunlight shined upon four young boys, including the prince.

As soon as she entered, the loud cheerful conversations halted to a sudden break.

Stella blushed instantaneously, as she had never found herself in a situation where she had to eat all alone in the midst of prepubescent _boys. _

Last night, she didn't have the chance to look at Noctis's _comrades_ properly, but the bright sunshine allowed her to focus on each and every one of their features in great detail.

One of them was much older and bigger than the rest. He had strong, solid facial features with signs of underdeveloped masculinity.

He had a prominent scar, slashed across his right eye and a fire blaze inked tattoo across his left arm.

The other was a blonde, puckish boy similar to Noctis's age. He had lips that grinned mischievously as if he playfully objectified Stella at first sight.

The third and last boy sitting next to Noctis was again slightly older.

He was a thin teenage boy who sported rimmed spectacles and a neat light brown hair cut that exuberated an intelligent vibe.

Noctis sat in the midst of his gang, inheriting the King's blue-grayish hair and light blue eyes.

"Lady Stella."

Stella was surprised to see the boy in glasses make the first conversation.

"Good morning. My name is Ignis Stupeo Scientia. It is my honor to meet a royal from Tenebrae." Ignis expressed with courtesy.

"Good morning to you too, Ignis. It is my honor too." delivered Stella.

Ignis privately nudged at the masculine boy with the slashed scar by his elbow.

"Oh…! It is my late greetings, Lady Stella. I'm Gladiolus Micitia. You can call me Noctis's personal bodyguard." grinned Gladiolus.

"And I'm Prompto Argentum! Oops… I mean- I apologize… my _name_ is Prompto, and I'm… I'm not of royal blood like the others, but I'm still part of the team." Prompto winked with an egotistical grin.

Noctis cleared his throat as if he was suffering from an annoying cold.

"Lady Stella." declared Noctis firmly.

He stood up from his breakfast and now stood facing Stella, eye to eye without shy mitigation as he did last night.

"I give my proper introduction. I am Noctis Lucis Caelum, the prince of Lucis." Noctis uttered his royal title without any sign of conflicting self-esteem issues as he had last night.

"I found it hard to introduce myself to you in the midst of adults… I hope you weren't offended with my brusqueness in manner." It was a shock to see Noctis's attitude towards her flip upside down overnight.

Stella even wondered if Noctis was scolded by his father after dinner regarding his lack of speech and manners during their first meeting with the Tenebrae family.

'Maybe that is why he is giving a proper introduction to me. Because he was forced to.' Stella thought with a touch of skepticism.

"No, it is my fault for not introducing me personally to you too. My name is Stella Nox Fleuret. It is a pleasure to be an acquaintance, Prince Noctis."

"Please sit down Lady Stella." The cook arranged her plate of salad, scrambled eggs and porridge for her to join the boys for breakfast.

Stella sat down with elegance all the while concealing the butterflies that flew around the inner corners of her stomach.

The boys imitated her suit to resume their breakfast.

Stella lazily poked on her salad with the fork in silence.

The dining hall was only filled with the sound of forks and knives constantly tapping against the china plates.

The air was filled with an awkward lull before Prompto decided to break the ice.

"So… Lady Stella. I heard you are staying in Lucis to attend the Grand Treaty Party in few weeks time… what will you do until then?" inquired Prompto casually.

"Oh yes. Our family is representing Tenebrae at that event. I suppose I would like to tour around Lucis. There is so much to see!" answered Stella with cheerfully.

"Hey! Maybe we could be your tour guide!" Prompto shouted impulsively.

Noctis shot his expressionless face at Prompto without any utterances.

"I mean… Lady Stella…" Prompto coughed insidiously.

"If Noctis has the time of course… otherwise we are quite… _preoccupied._" Prompto reformulated his excuse in haste.

"No problem. I understand. Besides, I wouldn't mind exploring the city by myself. I'm used to it." said Stella.

"And please, call me Stella. There is no need for honorifics between royals." Stella requested as she sipped her white morning milk.

"But I'm not of royal blood… so that means I have to address you differently." Said Prompto whimsically.

"You all address the prince on a first name basis, am I wrong Prince?" challenged Stella.

Noctis seemed to do a double take for a deductively brief second before he spooned his porridge.

"Actually they call me 'Noct'" voiced Noctis in a cool tone.

"Oh… then that means Prompto could call me by my first name too. Royal or not, we are going to live in the same castle for the next few weeks after all." Stella said brightly as she charmed her friendly gestures towards the boys.

Just moments before, Stella was nervous about entering the noisy dining hall full of just boys when she came down for breakfast.

But as soon as Noctis formally introduced himself to her with confidence, she felt the same courage that he had to make up the conversation.

She no longer felt that his company was nerve-racking or uncomfortable.

"Yes Ma'am, I mean yes _Stella_." joked Prompto with a touch of irony.

Stella laughed out of manners for Prompto.

"Although… Prince Noctis… I was wondering about what you said last night… about how you always had King Regis read your bedtime stories about the histories, myths and legends of Lucis." Stella began.

"Is it okay if I could visit the castle's Grand Library? I would love to learn more about the Lucis history from the patriarchal perspective." Stella quickly changed the topic of her request as soon as she realized that her real intention was straying off to ask about the Somnus Legend.

"Oh… yes… of course you can visit the Grand Library as you please. It is located on the dungeon floor downwards from the central spiral staircase." told Noctis politely.

"Thank you Prince Noctis." Stella beamed out of pure joy.

Noctis quickly got up from the table as he thanked the chef curtly.

The other boys quickly followed his suit although some of them weren't finished with their meals.

After breakfast, Stella went down the cold spiral staircase.

Although the daylight adjusted upon the stairway dimly, there was still an eerie damp hollowness as Stella's footsteps echoed with constant tempo at each downward step.

Stella soon found herself alone in the dungeon floor where the grand entrance, built up of faded oak tress lay beyond the lowest floor.

She walked through the Grand Library where its top ceiling raised above at least ten feet high.

The crystal chandeliers lit among the hundreds of book shelves that lay on endlessly.

Some old men decked with monocles and regular glasses were dressed in grey tuxedo suits, carrying piles of documents and files all the while shuffling in and out of the library.

The decor of deer and lion heads that seldom hung above between the bookcases fixed their dull, lifeless eyes on Stella.

Stella quickly rushed towards the shelves that had no such terrifying monuments.

They freakishly urged her to puke out her breakfast.

She stumbled upon a bookcase in the abandoned corner of the library, where there was no one else to be seen.

Panting out of breath, Stella neared the soaring shelf full of ancient parchments that were crumpled with stains.

The edges of the parchments lay worn out of historical ages.

She adjusted her touch with extra care as she pulled out an elder scroll from the shelf.

There were writings on it, brush strokes of black ink calligraphy lines and curves painted in complex letters she could not read or understand.

She stacked the scroll back to its rightful place as she sighed in annoyance of the countless of scrolls written in expired and foreign texts.

She noticed that a sliding ladder stood by, waiting for her to use.

She slid the black wooden ladder to the side as her glass slippers climbed above the ladder to the very top.

From up above, she could see the entire library from a bird's-eye view.

The library stretched on boundless, like the unseen horizons of the sky on the beach.

She grabbed the parchment that was placed on the highest stool and gently backed down to find a nice cozy sofa by the solo lamp stand to read.

As she unrolled the withered goatskin scroll, she found excerpts of poems written in the Lingua Franca.

It seemed that some of the earlier lines of the poem were written out of history, their inks faded with the crossing of time.

Stella pumped the imaginary fist in her head as she celebrated her victory of a quest to find something she could actually _read._

'Being a bookworm surely does help with being able to read pretty much anything in my own language.' thought Stella.

The parchment read:

_In a time that has already passed into sealed history_

_There was a thunderous Savior who had ended the five hundred year mystery_

_She had come to save and guide humanity's lost soul_

_Including the spirit of the Last Shadow Hunter Noel_

_But when the ten souls arrived upon the new star_

_Only four survived while the rest were scattered and gone by far_

_Lightning travelled on a train beyond the green plains_

_To help renew the time travelers' once platonic chain_

_The time travelers' friendship grew into love and gave birth in the New World_

_Five sons, the color strands of brown and pink whose swords whirled_

_Their dying mother cried them a blue crystal tear_

_One they split among themselves for them to bear_

_Accordo, Solheim, Tenebrae, Niflheim and Lucis were their names_

_Wise, noble and courage wise they were all the same_

_In brotherhood and in blood they formed five nations_

_The split crystal tear provided them a sacred foundation_

_Each shard of the broken crystal concealed a hidden power_

_Only in union would they know it in their last hour_

_Out of the five brothers, Lucis stood out the most_

_He wanted to protect his crystal and defend his country's post_

_All the while the lust and ambition of the rest grew to boast_

_They all became in their end, a sleeping ghost_

_Only Lucis was saved from the Goddess_

_Because while the four planned destruction he was modest_

_The four Kings lie dead but awake in their dreams_

_Awaiting the day when the star-crossed lovers would become opposing teams_

_A meeting predestined by the divine_

_Their destinies and path will cross and intertwine_

_Eyes that see the light of expiring souls_

_If their fate is accepted it will once again awaken the whole_

_In their beautiful tale there is nothing good or bad_

_Only countless tears and blood are there to add_

_Like their ancestors they were meant to see tragedy flow_

_But only thinking it makes it so_

_A figure that still lies asleep in the Fantasy_

_This is a Fantasy based on reality_

Stella read the legend twice, as she couldn't comprehend her logic around the mythical riddle.

Back in Tenebrae, she was familiar with the legend of creation of the Fabula Nova Crystallis world.

She knew all about how once upon a time there were ten heroes who had all united to see the fall of the God Bhunivelze.

She remembered the religious class she had with her father when she was nine years old…

* * *

It was late dawn and the orange golden hues of the sinking sun bathed the dome-shaped Central Library back at her Tenebrae mansion.

She and her father were having late night tea by the glossy window sill as they sat comfortably in the leather sofa chair.

"Father what happened to the four that were stranded on the New World?"

"Legend tells that the ten heroes were scattered upon the new planet, unable to find each other in the midst of the unfamiliar geography. While the rest of humanity that were befallen upon the New World reconstructed their homes and infrastructure in communion within their first year of arrival, the ten heroes fell on a desolated and dead desert. Only four out of the ten made it out alive. A young teenage boy, two sisters who were related by blood and another was the Last Shadow Hunter who is said to have been the last of humanity in the Dying World."

Stella's mouth opened in passion and enthusiasm as she absorbed every single word from her father.

"The last of mankind, became the first father of the five whose Kingdoms still reign to this day. Can you guess their names?"

"Accordo, Solheim, Tenebrae, Niflheim and Lucis!" Stella shouted as she strived for acknowledgement.

"Right on, my girl. Those sons were the Great ancestors of the royal dynasty that governs the world today. When their beloved mother died, she cried a blue crystal tear as a sign of undying love for her sons. The sons divided the crystal tear into five equal shards, each of which forestalled a hidden yet destructive magical power within. Now out of the five sons, one stood out above the rest in terms of greed: Niflheim."

"Well that's not too surprising. They are still a greedy bunch of people even today!" exclaimed Stella.

"Stella. That is not how an aristocrat should talk about other countries. Especially not when your parents are the diplomats." scolded her father.

"Sorry…" Stella pouted her pink baby lips.

"Just don't ever say anything like that ok?" her father ruffled her blonde head.

"Yes sir! And then what happened father?" she asked earnestly.

"Well Niflheim, being _greedy_ as you said, wanted all the five shards to be pieced back to its original tear drop so that he could claim the ultimate power of the full crystal by himself. It lead to conflict among the bloodline of brothers which eventually lead to tension, cold wards and world wards of the five nations." Whispered her father in a mild tone.

"That is rather unfortunate…" murmured the young Stella.

* * *

Ever since that day, Stella cryptically searched thousands of historical books and documents found in her own library until she had come across the Legend of Somnus.

And when she read it multiple times, her curiosity of the unknown tales and the disconnected legends propelled her intellectual hunger from within.

Sitting all alone in the Grand Library of Lucis Castle, she sat dumbfounded, unable to connect the dots between her own knowledge, the ancient scrolls and King Regis's tale.

'There is a connection between these tales. But I just don't know _how_ or _what _connects them. All I know is that they are _interwoven somehow._' thought Stella as she peered into the empty library.

Stella realized she needed help.

Help from someone who could give her further access to some of the more secretive files and books hidden in the library.

Someone who wanted to search for the same answers she had.

Someone who would be willing to break some of the rules set by adults.

She knew just who that someone was.


	5. Chapter 5

Stella's thin little legs jolted up the spiral staircase without pause.

Stella had no idea where Noctis went after breakfast.

All she knew was that since both of them were on holiday, neither of them were obligated to school or homework during their holidays.

When she reached the main corridor of the castle laden in rich, red carpet, she bumped into one of the well-built bodyguards dressed in dark shades and black suits.

"Whoa… young lady… what's the hurry?" he asserted with slight irritation.

"Oh… I'm terribly sorry. Mind you, may I ask where prince Noctis went after breakfast?" Stella solicited with sincerity.

"Prince Noctis? Well I'm not his personal bodyguard so I don't know where _exactly_ he went, but I suppose during the summer holidays, he and his friends drive out into the wild fields just outside Lucis for training with monsters… Why? Is this an urgent matter?" queried the black suit with a stern look on his face.

"No… no… it's nothing too urgent… umm… do you know when he might get back? Just approximately when?" she asked inquisitively.

"Even on days when the hunt lasts long, they usually get back around dinner time. So you should see him soon Lady Stella." His lips curved gently at the cute little girl.

"Oh… thank you sir." Stella encompassed her disposition with impatience and disappointment as she dragged her barren body up the stairway towards her chamber.

The last thing she felt like doing was to re-visit the library to read up on more books.

She didn't have the drive or courage to figure out the riddles all on her own.

Even if she stayed and waited for Noctis until dinner, she wouldn't have the time to talk to him privately, nor would they be able to discuss this issue in private during their bed hours.

'Well that leaves me with nothing better to do in this castle… maybe I should ask one of the bodyguards to accompany me while I tour the city.' determined with the will to get out of this castle, Stella packed her red clutch to scramble back downstairs to find the familiar man in sunglasses reading a newspaper in the guest coffee table by the dining hall.

"Um… excuse me… may I ask a favor of you?" proposed Stella with instilled politeness.

"Oh yes sure, Lady Stella. What's the favor?" he smiled back.

"Well… as you know, I just arrived in Lucis with my parents from Tenebrae last night. I would love to take a tour of the city, but I don't have a guide or a bodyguard… so I was wondering… can you be my tour guide and bodyguard for me today?" Stella blinked her long eyelashes reverently.

"Lady Stella…" hesitated the bodyguard.

"You must remember that weeks before you came to Lucis, all the servants and guards of Lucis were noticed of your arrival and stay at Lucis. We were told to strictly abide by Captain's orders to prioritize you and your family's safety and well-being as our first duty. Even if I wanted to give you a tour around Lucis, I would have to get official permission from the Captain himself… Which is very difficult as the man in charge is preoccupied with other more trivial matters concerning national security…" the guard worked his words around fashionably to refuse Stella's entreaty.

"So I can't leave the castle spontaneously unless I get an authorized permission to _go outside_?! But I'm not a baby!" moaned Stella as she behaved out of her usual refined behavior.

"I'm sorry Lady Stella. But I can't just extricate my civil duty. If you wish for a proper tour of Lucis, you'd best do it with the Captain himself, in order to tour the city individually on your own." The guard resumed to sip his morning coffee to avoid any further negotiations with her.

Stella grumbled an unladylike groan as she dismally headed up to her bedroom once again to sleep in for the day.

* * *

In a world that was not of this dimension, Stella was running across the misty plains of lofty green grass gently swaying side to side in synchrony with the cool breeze.

Her heart raced with the drumming of the recurring vibe of panic and fear as she felt the trickle of sweat gliding down her spine.

It was then that she realized she was holding someone's hand.

A hand that fit her hand in harmonious compact, as if their hands were designed to be perfectly compatible with one another.

Their legs were sprinting.

Not running towards a specific location in particular, but running _away_ from something that was chasing them to their early death.

She could see nothing in the blue foggy smog of emptiness.

It seemed as though the grassy plains stretched on infinitely, trapping both her and her companion in a jail house of nature's soft box, of pastel colored palettes in light blue and green hues.

She glanced back at the hand that grasped so tightly on to hers.

It was a boy's hand, well-gripped on to her with a firm, strong clasp of nerves and knuckles.

When she glanced further down, she saw black chuck sports sneakers, dashing with might in line with her own swift pace.

She was running away with this boy as if their lives depended on the speed at which they ran.

The piercing anxiety in her heart fueled her to step further, faster and longer to save him.

It was all she could think about in this scope of never-ending terror.

Saving whoever this boy behind her was what she had to do.

What she _wanted_ to do.

* * *

"Lady Stella!" the nanny's vigilant yell brought her attention back into reality.

She was lying in her bed, sweat crawling down her round forehead.

"It's time for dinner. Everyone's probably waiting for you to join them downstairs." The nanny helped her out of her bed as Stella still left her head in the misty cloud of her recent nightmare.

Well, speaking frankly it wasn't a _night_mare per se, but a _day_mare.

Her daytime napping had taken her far more than the originally intended plan to nap peacefully as a way of killing time.

She recollected her focus back to reality as she washed up quickly to surge downstairs towards the glittering, glamorous dining hall lit up from the night lights that awaited her through the window.

She could smell the warm waft of mouth-watering hot pork ribs and lobsters oozing from the grand table.

Her parents, King Regis and Noctis were all waiting in calm as the chef brought out fresh steaming lobsters and pineapples on shining silver platters.

"Ah! Stella! Glad you could join us!" King Regis adjusted his white napkin on his neck tie, eager to dig into his fancy banquet.

"I'm terribly sorry to have kept you all waiting for me." Apologized Stella as she sat on her sleek high chair pulled back by the waitress.

"Ah… no worries... Well, what are we waiting for? I say dig in!" King Regis indulged himself in baked potatoes as the rest mirrored his move to start their dinner.

The adults as usual, dined with the unavoidable accompaniment of economical and political discussions, while Stella and Noctis exchanged condensed forms of greetings with a brief eye contact and a simple nod.

"So what have you been up to today Stella?" the King finally commenced a casual talk.

"Well sir, I was going to take a tour of the city, but one of the guards restricted me due to high prohibited orders from his Captain not to let me out without upper permission. So I just took a daytime nap…" Stella sipped her glass of water in an introvert fashion.

"Oh… what a shame… yes I do remember the tight safety protocol we regulated on our foreign guests to be extra careful outside the castle… especially with the younger royals, but I don't remember ordering them to lock in little girls in the castle like a prison cell! No, no! Don't worry. I will arrange proper guards for you to tour Lucis tomorrow." alleged the King.

"Thank you, your majesty; I would greatly appreciate your kind assistance." mouthed Stella amiably.

"Say, Noctis. What have you been up to today? Another adventure out to greet the monsters with your boys?" King Regis delivered him a wink of his left eyes towards his son.

"Yes… we found some Cactuars in the rural highlands but Gladiolus kept getting frustrated by continuous stabbing of its sharp needle attacks, so we hunted easy Microchus instead… didn't learn anything from that…" Noctis nibbled his pork ribs blatantly with his silver fork.

"Oh Cactuars… I remember my good old days training with the likes of them. But don't worry son. No monsters are not worth fighting, no matter how weak or easy. You know what I always say: 'Whether big or small, every experience is a lesson that counts to make the greater king!'" King Regis patted his son roughly on his arched back.

"Tell you what son, if you are planning to go hunting again with the boys tomorrow, why don't you find something different to do? For example, you and the boys are strong enough to be Stella's tour guide _and _bodyguard around Lucis. You two still haven't seemed to have bonded at all, despite the fact that you were both born on the same constellation sign…" suggested Noctis's father in an upbeat recommendation.

Noctis bounced a petty setback as he stopped poking at his pork ribs with his fork.

This was clearly not a mere suggestion.

This was an imperative order from the King himself.

Noctis was all too familiar with his father's guile commands mischievously coated in conciliatory friendliness to receive mere _suggestions_ otherwise.

"Yes Father." Obliged Noctis diplomatically as he refrained himself to stare back at his would-be-host sitting face to face across his dinner plate.

"Very Well! That is settled then! Noctis and Stella and the boys will take a tour of the city as well-behaved and pleasant neighbors! What better way to consolidate a pact of early alliance between Lucis and Tenebrae! Generational bonding!" farced the King in childish joy.

"Lord Regis. We will be honored to have the prince and his friends look after our Stella. We are reassured with certainty that she is in good hands." the Duchess smiled with a serene delight.

It seemed that Stella and Noctis were the only ones in the table who reversed their inner feelings with a bogus attitude, all the while feeling a vexed work up of energized thrill and agitation of how the two might mash-up together as "neighbors" on the day that lay ahead.


	6. Chapter 6

"Lady Stella." Noctis ensued Stella in the windowed lobby as she headed back to her chamber.

"Oh… Good evening Prince Noctis." Stella blushed at his sudden appearance.

"Where do you want to go tomorrow? Is there any place you want to see in particular around here?" he requested solidly.

"Oh why thank you Prince Noctis… um… I've always wanted to see... the Lucis Museum… I've only seen it via photographs and television. It looked so splendid and stately…" answered Stella honestly.

"The Museum? You mean the one in the upper east side of Lucis?" Stella thought she glimpsed a brief look of discontentment that flashed across Noctis's eyes as quickly as a lightning bolt.

"Yes. The very one." Stella's blue eyes lit up like a candle in the dark corridor.

She and Noctis were now walking side by side along the curtained rectangular casements that ran along the top floor corridor.

"Ok… I'll tell, I mean I'll pass that to the guys right now… we'll plan the tour for you... um… we'll go together after breakfast tomorrow morning… Sound cool?" directed Noctis casually.

"Yes! Thank you for offering to show me around… it's very kind of you… I'll see you tomorrow! Good night Prince Noctis!" Stella considered giving him the generic curtsy bow, but thought it may appear too corny.

They were both the same age after all…

"Please, call me Noct… Or just Noctis... if Noct feels uncomfortable... Good Night… Stella…" Noctis mumbled her first name haltingly.

Stella blushed.

It was the first time that he had addressed her personally without the honorific courtesy of the "Lady" title.

She felt the rush of biology's adrenaline pumping her heart beat as she scoped the back of Noctis swiftly blending away into the pitch-black corridor.

* * *

"Prince Noctis… seems… nice!" Stella put her shifted perception of the prince into words as the nanny brushed her wet coffee blonde hair in a straight motion.

"Oh yes… he comes across as a little quiet and shy at first, but once you get to know the lad, he is a rather caring and kind-hearted boy…He's not your everyday spoilt and stuck-up prince. For example, he never forgets my birthday presents, nor does he ever throw a tantrum for not having things his way! I even heard that the chef say that he rarely complains about the cuisine menus… except for the occasional green broccoli soups…" chuckled the nanny, full of nothing but praise for her prince.

"He and his friends are taking me to the Lucis Museum tomorrow morning! Isn't that exciting nanny? I don't know how I am going to fall asleep with all this excitement!" Stella's grin extended widely to reach the edge of her cheeks as she contemplated on the thought of finally being able to see the museum that she had dreamt of seeing in real life.

"Well then Lady Stella, you should get a good night's sleep then, so you don't wake up late again." The nanny's hairbrush ceased gently.

Stella tucked herself in bed before thanking and saying her evening farewell to the nanny.

'A whole day spent with the Prince of Lucis in the Lucis Museum! My girlfriends back at home will be so jealous of me…' Stella closed her eyes with a smile on her face that seemed unlikely to die for a long time.

* * *

Stella stared at the pine tree wardrobe chock-full of numerous dresses in all sorts of shapes and colors that the nanny had arranged from her heavy luggage bag.

She had brought casual attires, formal dresses and all sorts of clothes for different occasions and events lined up during her stay in Lucis.

Thirteen year old Stella always had her maids pick out what to wear for the day back in Tenebrae, but in Lucis, she had to sharpen her own fashion senses…

After much careful consideration, she decided upon a light blue checked skirt matched with her black leather boots for a casual outing.

'In case I might need to run around, it will be better to dress comfortably.' She apprehended.

When Stella showed up at the breakfast table, only Noctis and his pals were present as yesterday morning.

No adults, just kids.

The chef served Stella a platter of oriental sushi: a traditional Lucis staple of seafood and rice.

"Good morning Lady Stella!" Prompto was at the height of his mood radar just as he was during their first encounter.

"Good morning Prompto. Are you coming on the Museum tour too?" she inquired genuinely as she chewed on her raw sashimi.

"Of course! I was part of the Museum Tour Guide Pre-plan Committee last night. Also, me and Noct are inseparable. Where he goes, I go! I'm all pumped up and ready to roll with some old plate and mummy gawking!" Prompto punched the mid-air with his fist as if he were showing off his new martial arts moves.

Stella giggled.

"Prompto! Show your proper manners." Ignis warned.

Prompto's rough fiddling decimated with Ignis's sharp caution like a bomb that detonated instantly.

"Once we're done eating, we're gonna roll." ordered Noctis with low casualty.

"Yes sir!" pumped Prompto and Gladiolus.

Stella cackled once more.

'Nothing could go wrong with this lively bunch.' She thought.

* * *

Stella, Noctis and his gang occupied the soft leather seats at the back of the black limousine.

Stella cast her eyes out of the car window as Prompto and the others boasted on endlessly about the latest monsters they managed to defeat single-handedly.

They were now in the upper east side of Lucis, the sector towering mountains of modern skyscrapers and buildings juxtaposed with vertical advertisement signs and electric shop labels blazing with vibrant lights of the rainbow.

Even in the daylight, Lucis was starry; jammed with department stores, Cafes, shops, and convenience stores stacked intimately clustered beside each other without any room for waster free space.

To some, Lucis may have felt claustrophobic, as it was scenery that didn't give the eye to rest upon any empty block of plainness or nothingness; the city was bursting with stylish people, cute cartoon styled boutiques, dodgy nightclubs, sake bars and vintage bakeries.

The youthful hip vibe of contemporary Lucis never seemed to rest as it all enamored Stella's visual pleasure even at ten A.M. in the morning.

Noctis on the other hand, having grown up with seeing nearly every corner of the city from his earliest memories, lumped lazily on the backseat with his eyes shut to chill, occasionally peeping at Stella's lips open in awe.

"We're here Prince." The driver informed as the sleek limousine aligned itself within the yellow perimeters of the V.I.P. car park area.

The driver opened the door as Stella and the others stepped out of the limousine to see columns of marble pillars upholding the historical rooftops of the Lucis Museum.

It was certainly even bigger than the castle in size.

The expansive waterfalls of park fountains adorned with holy stoned angels centered on the red poppy gardens.

The opening garden greeted hundreds of troops of visitors on holiday to the Museum's front entrance.

The tourists were of different ages; but there were more kids than usual due to the summer holiday ticket bargains.

Three bodyguards in black ties and overcoats followed Noctis like robots.

"Uh-uh" Noctis wagged his index finger at the three buffed men that tried to supervise him everywhere, before they even reached the ticket booth.

"You three, you're not coming with us. We don't need your _assistance_ for protection." Noctis conveyed coldly.

"But Prince Noctis! We're here on the King's orders! We cannot abandon our post duties as your _escorts_ to secure your safety in public spheres!" defended one of the bodyguards in retaliation.

"We don't need macho stalkers anymore. We're past that stage now. We can handle things on our own, right Noct?" slurred Prompto arrogantly.

"But sir!" excused the bodyguard.

"We're not babies that need babysitting anymore. We all brought our weapons in our bags just in case. And besides, we have four dudes with magical abilities to protect one girl. We can't go wrong." Gladiolus folded his toned arms to show the crew's dominance.

"I'll be the one to hold full responsibility for protecting Stella and the others. In the meantime, you guys should take a shower in the fountains. With that overcoat you guys are wearing in this season, you're gonna need one soon." Noctis snickered as he left the security guards gasping in panic and confusion.

Stella quickly chased after Noctis and his boys into the ticket booth to buy five teenage passes.

The counter in the ticket booth couldn't keep her fan girl instincts as Noctis handed over his ID card for inspection.

Noctis shrugged off her uncontrollable whimper at the "handsome young prince" as he mindlessly darted into the main corridor of the Museum.

"Right. Where do you want to go first, Stella? We've all been here before and I had the map of this building beaten into my head with the help of my ridiculous tutors. So I don't mind where you want to go first." Noctis ruffled his blue grayish spikes of hair as he patiently awaited Stella's opinion.

"Oh… really?! Thanks… Princ- I mean, Noctis… well… I was wondering if we could see the historical artifacts of Lucis first up. You know, to broaden my horizons of this country." suggested Stella as she clutched her light blue handbag.

"Alright. Let's march boys." Noctis wavered his hand over his head to gesture his horde to succeed his lead.

They passed through crowds of families and couples who all started whispering, pointing and gasping as they realized the prince's presence among themselves.

The prince hardly ever made appearances in the public arena.

This was the Noctis Exhibition broadcasting live before their very eyes.

Stella suddenly regretted ever suggesting visiting the _public _museum of all places.

How could she have been so thick as to completely disregard _Prince_ Noctis's celebrity status to take him to the beehive's nest of ogling strangers desperate for autographs and photo snap shots with their prince?

They could now hear the chipmunk squealing of schoolgirls in ecstasy as they feverishly tapped each other's shoulders "that the prince was on the loose" amongst themselves.

"What did I tell you guys last night? Even without the bodyguards drawing attention to us, normal people still recognize us. This fandom is really freaking me out" spat Prompto as he shoved an aroused girl who bordered on him too intensely.

"That's why we always bring back-up plans." reminded Noctis as he tapped on his leather bag.

"We go out in public hoping that citizens won't recognize Noctis _this time_, but it always comes back to Plan B." snorted Ignis as he pushed the flock of Noctis devotees leering upon Noctis.

"What's Plan B?" asked Stella as she thrust off an older woman who was too eager to get her hands on Noctis.

"It's when we disguise ourselves in men's toilets for a long time in wigs, sunglasses and costumes to split up with our phones connected." Gladiolus smacked a realistic face-palm on his distressed face to express his mortal dread of this _Plan B. _

"Well! Why couldn't you guys have thought of implementing this strategy B earlier?! You know, _before_ you stepped out into the public?!" Stella had to shout at the top of her lungs in the ocean of masses shrieking for Noctis's squad at an ear-piercing volume.

"_Because_, our previous experiences with starting off with Plan B have led to disastrous results. Gossip column entries on girl's magazines feast upon paparazzi shots of us in wacky fashion.

That alone attracted more attention. So we figured, we should set up a hook for bait, and then _camouflage_ later to have them looking for the wrong people." explained Ignis logically in a whisper directly behind Stella, so she could hear him in this deafening wail.

"Oh… ok… I guess… whatever…." Stella now felt sorry for the prepubescent boy band having to come up with illogical solutions to counteract their royal superstardom and screaming fan base.

"Gladiolus, you go with Ignis. Prompto, you come with me and Stella to the fourth floor men's room." Noctis fingered his commands like a flight captain in charge of an emergency plan.

"_Excuse me?!" _Stella yelped in horror.

"Oops… sorry… _what I meant_ was while me and Prompto initiate Plan B in the bathroom, Stella you… go do your thing in the ladies room while you wait for us." Noctis blushed with the red apples as ripe as the apples in the orchard's tree.

"Here take this." Noctis handed Stella a small mobile sized walkie-talkie that had an LED touch screen built into it.

"Whenever you need help, or in trouble, call me. I'm on the first page." Noctis's eyes met Stella's round puzzled look before he fought his way out of the pack of she-wolves howling for his name.

Stella impatiently waited inside the ladies bathroom, staring at other girls hogging the mirror to retouch her make-up.

'What's taking them so long to dress up… maybe they're cross-dressing...' she wondered.

A sudden electronic beep flashed through her eardrums as Noctis's fuzzy voice seeped out of the walkie-talkie's speakers.

"Meet me outside." He said.

"Roger that Prince." She replied back obediently.


	7. Chapter 7

It was all _her fault_.

She was the one who had the idiocy to parade the national beloved boy band of Lucis into the ultimate frenzy of commoners and fan girls yelping at Noctis's spiky emo hair.

And the result was _this. _

Noctis and Prompto stood ridiculously still, as if they were play-art figures.

Noctis was sporting round retro sunglasses that were homage to Lucis's vintage rock and roll pop stars of Stella's parents' generation.

His spiky turns were now tamed with hair gel into a neat slick of long straight hair-do.

Noctis's Plan B costume was a tropical buttoned shirt patterned with pineapples, all the while managing to fit neatly into white skinny jeans and formal leather shoes.

If Noctis was a bit older, he would have passed for a gang leader who dealt with illegal drug trading.

Prompto, on the other hand didn't look any better.

No longer the puckish playboy, but the homeless beggar.

He dragged a moth-eaten grey cloak, withered with the faded ages and poverty.

Prompto slipped on a peasant hat over his blonde head to cover his eyes.

So there it was; a pretty girl dressed normally between a gang leader and a homeless orphan.

"I know it's ridiculous. But there is no other way." coughed Noctis stiffly, to hide his lethal shame.

"Yeah… we weren't going to have to resort to _this_... but…" bewildered Prompto.

"Well… what were you _expecting?_" mocked Stella.

"That's why we abandoned the three bodyguards at the entrance. So we could look normal and blend into the crowd. Me and the gang had a big debate about methods of how we could sneak in unnoticed last night…" Noctis flustered.

All the royal and sophisticated predisposition Stella had of the prince at first sight disappeared comically out of Stella's royal respectability radar.

"Oh… so that's why…" she stammered.

Out of the corner of Noctis's eye, he glimpsed three tall men in black overcoats and shades.

"Oh _seriously_… they really haven't listened to my advice about taking a shower in the fountains, have they?" snarled Noctis as he beckoned his head towards his national security stalkers.

"They followed us here?! But I thought that Plan B would get rid of them as well!" Prompto baffled with a cursing catcall.

"We'll just pretend they're not here. At least we got them to separate as far away from us at the entrance…" Stella advised optimistically.

"Yeah… although it was a failure, at least it was worth a try…" he laughed back.

"It's not the bodyguards they recognize you by, it's… the _hair_ and the aura that you give off." Stella giggled at the prince.

Just when she thought that he was the uptight well-behaved prince, she finally discovered his rebellious nature.

She could connect with it, and what was more, she liked this side of Noctis better.

She found it _cute_.

"I'm _seriously _considering dying my hair pink then." muttered Noctis sarcastically as the gang entered the historical hall of Lucis artifacts.

The hall was radiant from the white artificial fluorescence streaking below the glass floor.

The decayed artifacts of archaic statues, Holy Scriptures written on papyrus scrolls and parchments, yellowish bandaged mummies, potteries printed with dragons and paintings of devilish scaled demons and eagle wings decked the hall.

The scenery of faint whispers and dead spirits of Lucis's history.

Here she could feel the passing of Lucis's timeline in clear presence.

Noctis and Prompto didn't look too pleased with the whole exhibition observation thing, while Stella feasted upon the eye candy of ivory angel statues excavated since the founding of Lucis.

The riot of fan girls no longer hovered upon the two boys in disguise.

Noctis and Prompto managed to wait out the army of eyeballs for a good thirty minutes, so they would eventually get tired of waiting for them.

Stella's gaze diverted back to the prince in camouflage standing still between the mobs of visitors.

She could now focus on his laid back posture carefully, the way he rested his hand to hang upon his jeans casually when he was alone…

_He was alone…!_

Stella then realized that this was the moment she had waited for ever since the epiphany strolled in to her mind back in the Grand Library at the castle.

She now had the opportunity to approach him in private, without worrying about the adults eavesdropping on their secretive conversation.

But there was one thing to worry about here.

There were too many people.

And who knows where the bodyguards were?

Stella noticed that Prompto was too busy rubbernecking deeply into the painted portraits of women who lacked decent clothing.

'That should keep him busy.' calculated Stella as she advanced Noctis.

"Noctis" whispered Stella behind his ear.

Noctis turned his back around to notice Stella standing intimately in front of him.

The swarm of people who leaned passionately to peer at the antique tiaras pushed their bodies closer than they had ever been.

"Can I… um… talk to you in private? There is something I need to discuss with you… something about… the _Somnus Legend_" Stella hushed her whisper into Noctis's ear.

The irises in Noctis's sky eyes contracted, responding instinctively to his topic of interest.

"Ok…yeah sure… I can't hear you properly with this entire rampaging crowd hovering over my ears though…" Noctis tiptoed as if he peered around, searching for someone in the room.

"Newsflash: _Daddy's bodyguards_ have recruited spies to track and eavesdrop on us…" hissed Noctis.

"We better go someplace quiet… somewhere the bodyguards won't follow us…" Noctis grabbed Stella's wrist tightly to squeeze her out of the tightly packed troop of the populated bodies, who behaved like elementary children gawking at the tiara exhibitions as if it was their last moment to see it.

"Can we leave Prompto here all by himself?" Stella was out of breath as she finally escaped the circle of masses.

"The last time I checked, he was engaged with certain paintings. He considers those types of artwork _Masterpieces._ He'll ponder on them for the next hour or two." Noctis burst into a smug chuckle.

Noctis's sweaty palms let go of Stella's wrist abruptly once he had no excuse to lead her out of a crowd.

"Follow me" uttered Noctis, with that very same straight deadpan look on his face.

The three bodyguards who had spied on Noctis from the corner of the exhibition hall imitated Noctis's footsteps towards him.

"Oh, _Bhuni._ Now they're gonna follow us. Run!" Noctis sprinted towards the elevator slowly ascending towards their floor.

Stella pursued Noctis to reach the elevator welcoming them just in time.

He pressed the B4 button with agility as he witnessed the elevator door closing on the bodyguards.

Oh, how he loved celebrating his victory.

He savored the failed mission of his bodyguards to chase after him.

"Why are we going to the car park?" puzzled Stella.

"Because, if we go to any other floor, they're just gonna follow us round and round in circles. They're just gonna keep on riding the elevator to the same floor we're in." Noctis panted out of breath.

"And we're not going to the car park. I know this museum back to front. But I also know this museum _bottom and up_, meaning, I know the secret hidden places in it too. One that the guards don't know about." he declared confidently as the elevator descended below to reach the dark underground car park.

As soon as the elevator door sliced open, Noctis drew closer to Stella once again, turning on his protective posture in front of her.

The two thirteen year olds dashed across the pitch black car park.

Only flashes of occasional bulbs of the front lamps of cars highlighted their pathways.

As soon as Noctis reached the emergency gate, he unzipped his leather bag from his side to extract his ID card.

He swiped the ID card across the lock.

The emergency door responded autonomously in surrender.

"V.I.P exclusives." smirked Noctis conceitedly.

When Stella stepped in through the emergency exit, she sensed with all her five senses that this was not the typical fire exit.

It didn't lead outside.

It only led _further _and _deeper_.


	8. Chapter 8

There was a _secondary _elevator in B4.

"Are we going even deeper underground?! Is that even _possible_?!" Stella barked out of fear against the unknown.

"It's Lucis. Anything's possible." Descanted the Patriotic prince proudly.

"Are you sure the bodyguards know about this passageway too?"

"No." replied Noctis frankly.

"As a matter of fact, this part of the museum was specially built for Restricted Access only. Only authorized personal, A.K.A. _the royal family_ knows about it. The rest, including the staff believe that it's just like any other fire exit that has a broken door. They won't catch or hear us in here."

"Where does the elevator lead to?" Stella spoke towards the abandoned elevator.

"Well… you'll have to find out." smirked Noctis.

Noctis and Stella entered the vacant elevator that looked as if it hadn't been used for a long time.

Stella had an impulsive uneasiness that crept to doubt her, questioning whether the elevator still even _worked_.

What if they get stuck down there?

If they did, no one would be able to rescue them.

'Because no one except the King has the ID card to get into this fake "fire exit"' she imagined the worst of the worst outcomes.

Noctis calling his father on his phone so that the King of Lucis himself can personally come running for aid to a fire exit in the car park of Lucis Museum, as if he were some firefighter with nothing better to do with his time.

Some headline news that would make.

"Hey… does this elevator _work_…? As in… can we get back up…?" Stella confessed her cowardice distress.

Noctis burst into a fracture of titter.

"Hey, you worried I might let you rot in the dungeon with me? I'm sorry but I ain't the type to kidnap _the Lady of Tenebrae _and lock her away in an underground vault. I have a whole life ahead of me_ above_." guffawed Noctis.

The button pad had only one floor to go to.

It wasn't numbered in numerical values like the other elevator panels.

Instead it had the Lucis national emblem embedded on it.

"Here we go." Noctis pushed the button.

The buzzing muffle similar to a vacuüm cleaner roared as the conveyor descended down into the depths of the earth.

The arrival bell ringed as Noctis and Stella stepped out into the cold, dark empty hall.

As soon as Noctis entered into the dark space, the lights above flicked on automatically to welcome his presence.

The extended dungeon emitted blue laser diodes to illuminate the stone carved walls.

Treasure chests, vaults, locked containers and file cupboards layered on top of one another in ample stacks.

The chamber scenery was mostly filled with run-down sealed boxes.

It wasn't the museum dungeon gallery that Stella expected it to be.

"What is this place?" Stella shivered as she embraced herself to warm her frigid arms.

Noctis unzipped his shoulder bag in counter action to her trembling in cold.

He chucked his black hooded jacket to Stella.

"Here. This ought to keep you warmer in here." Noctis prompted.

"Thanks… Noctis… What about you though? Aren't you cold in here too?"

"Nah… me and dad used to come here pretty often when I was little. Used to it. I like it here in fact. The air is much cooler… quieter…" Noctis strolled around the broad room in circles.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me Stella?" asked Noctis as he admired the statue of his great-grandfather standing dead in the distance.

"Oh… yes… about the Somnus Legend… yesterday morning, I visited the Grand Library in the Castle. Out of sheer random chance, I came across a historical poem that elaborated on King Regis's dinner tale a little further." Stella paused.

"Go on." suggested Noctis.

"Basically, it was about how a crystal tear drop was divided into five pieces between the five Kings; Accordo, Solheim, Tenebrae, Niflheim and Lucis. In the end, only Lucis was able to retain their crystal intact. Their crystal had the power to… 'Reawaken' someone... Or _something..._" Stella's undertone rang like an undisclosed mystery.

"Do you know anything about… this _crystal…?_" she whispered.

"Yes… and no…" Noctis classified privately.

"As the heir to the throne I was taught about my country's crystal and its importance to protect it for my people… but… I don't really know what it's used for. The specific details are supposed to be revealed on my eighteenth birthday, when I am of a certain mature age." Noctis stood still in the desolate hall, his voice echo bouncing off the empty walls into Stella's ear.

"Oh… then… we have come to a dead-end… Because I am just as clueless as you are about what this power could mean." Stella puffed a sigh of disappointment.

"Well… I did find it rather weird though… as far as I remember dad's always read me bed time stories about nearly every well-known legend and myth of Lucis out there… to be honest, I hate to admit this but he read me to sleep whenever he wasn't busy, until I was… well a little _too old for bedtime stories_… but he never mentioned anything about Somnus or the crystal…" said Noctis quietly.

"If the crystal was so integral to the foundation of Lucis, why did he keep the details of it so reclusive from me all this time…? What's there to hide…? I am his son after all…" Noctis quizzed more to himself, muttering as he staggered round and round randomly around the room as he interrogated his memories.

"Maybe he thought you might spill the beans to Prompto and the others… it's not that he doesn't trust them… it's probably because this is perhaps the _secret of all secrets_ that only the throne should know." Stella tried to give him a comprehensive and logical explanation.

"Well… that does sound rather convincing… but I don't see why telling a dead legend a little sooner would make much difference to all of this… he did say it was a 'dead' myth remember? This means, it's most likely just a fantasy tale that has no real validity to it." Noctis predicted in an intelligible note to try to convince himself more than anyone else.

"_Unless_, it isn't a 'dead' myth. Maybe it is so true that it is not considered a _legend_ to the kings…" Stella felt the icy shiver freezing round her spine cord, as the fearful thought of the catastrophic prophecies being fulfilled according to the legend, narrowed on her mind.

"I see.." pondered Noctis carefully.

"You know there is another reason I brought you here." He insinuated.

"What…?" Stella's feet stepped back in surprise.

"Well… you see one of the many locked vaults here? One of them contains a key. A key to open a secret lair at home, in the castle I mean." He opened his bag to pull out his ID card from his wallet.

Noctis scanned his ID card on the small rectangular screen of the locked vault.

"Access granted" a female mechanic robot responded.

The green lock slid open like an elevator door as Noctis grabbed the key waiting within the box.

"There you are" he greeted the worn golden key as if it were an old friend.

"I've actually used this before. Dad introduced me this little fella to me on my tenth birthday. It unlocks a hidden secret lair inside the Grand Library. I've been to it three times before, but back then I didn't have any particular _academic_ interests. But now… I need to know something... The problem is the secret room can only open at midnight. It was a precaution that the kings made to make sure nobody but the king himself could know of its existence. Even the librarians don't know about it. That's why one needs to sneak in way past bed time, when the library is officially closed and while the librarians have finished their work hours." He dangled the golden key between his index finger and thumb.

"So… even Prompto, Ignis and Gladiolus can't enter in this secret den with you?" she asked curiously.

"Are you kidding? If Ignis knew about a hidden section in the library that shelves hundreds of books and files about Lucis's darkest classified insider information, he'll go nuts trying to do anything to get in there. That bookworm will literally camp in there to live there for days if I told him about this lair, which isn't a smart thing to do… Ignis's family has served our throne for generations, advising ration and counseling wisdom with my forefathers. But to give them in on the more… _discrete_ stuff isn't a wise choice." Noctis whispered bitterly.

"I see… yes, I understand… some secrets are best left preserved and secluded only for the Kings… it's the only way to maintain full power and protection of their throne." Stella nodded in agreement.

"Yes… which is why... I find it strange... and ballistic of me to trust you completely now Stella…" he approached her closer to read her mind for signs of dishonesty that may be buried beneath her innocent eyes.

"After all… you're not part of our monarchy… or even part of our Kingdom…" he suddenly murmured suspiciously.

Stella's mouth paralyzed into frozen ice, sealing her icy tongue as a prisoner inside her mouth.

What could she say to this?

Was Noctis all of a sudden regretting that he brought Stella to his private hideout?

Is Noctis having second doubts about Stella's character?

Who does he think she is?

She is only thirteen… there was hardly anything manipulative she could do at her age…

"I know you may start distrusting me… for telling me too much… for showing me too much… and I know I am an outsider and that the alliance between our nations isn't strong… but I never intended to use you. All I want to do is figure out what this myth is all about. You see, I've been hung up on solving this riddle for years now. And when I came to Lucis the clues of the myth have started falling into place… and when I saw the glint in your eyes when King Regis told the tale at our first dinner, I think I realized subconsciously in my mind that you wanted to know more about it too… whatever we find together, I promise… I won't tell anyone Noctis… this will be our little secret… Please... you can trust me." Stella pleaded with all the honesty that lay beneath her soul.

Seconds went by, seconds of utter silence and stillness.

Stella saw the right side of Noctis's profile conjure a small grin.

"I know you won't… it's just that... I've never truly trusted anyone with stuff like this before…You are the first person, whom I trusted so soon, so…_easily_… but somehow I feel... I can trust you… " Noctis murmured.

Noctis now turned towards Stella, facing her eye to eye without blinking.

In his eyes, there was no trace of shyness or discomfort anymore.

Shyness that was more than prevalent during their moment of first encounter.

"I need to know. And you want to know too. That makes us partners. But you're wrong. This won't be our 'little secret'." Noctis walked closer to Stella.

"This will be our 'big secret'." He handed his palm towards Stella, offering his hand for Stella to shake her hands with.

Stella's pale hands reached out to wrap cozily around Noctis's bony hand, intertwining their hands in a pact of agreement, in a pact of promised secrecy.

It was in this moment, that the Goddess Etro interfered with the two children's destinies.

In a treaty of bonding union, their little hands were bound so that in the distant future, their fates wouldn't let go of each other's hearts.


	9. Chapter 9

"Noctis! Where you at? Me and Ignis just found Prompto ogling on naked woman centuries older than him. He thought you and Stella were in the same room all along, but it turns out you guys aren't here! Where are you? We're hungry!" Gladiolus grumbled through the walkie-talkie.

"Oh… we're…" Noctis paused to glance back at Stella for a private wink.

"We're downstairs. We'll meet you up in the top floor food court in a few minutes." Noctis hung up on Gladiolus instantly.

"Looks like the boys need fuel. Let's go Stella." Noctis and Stella stepped towards the elevator.

Stella took one last turn to ease her farewell with this secret room, a room she may never re-visit again…

She couldn't come back here.

It would be her last moment in this underground den…

Unless… she came back with Noctis…

Will she have another chance to do so…?

"What's wrong Stella?" Noctis asked earnestly.

"Oh… nothing… it's just… I thought that I wouldn't be able to see this place again… I've never been to a hidden room of any kind in my life before… so… I'm saying goodbye to it." Stella sounded almost as though she were sad.

Her small shoulders slumped lower.

Noctis snorted.

"Who decided that, Stella? You can always come here, whenever you come to Lucis. I'll let you in next time as well." gestured Noctis in a friendly manner.

Stella felt a glimmer of warm hope at the thought of re-visiting this place with Noctis.

The next time she did, she and Noctis will be much older.

"Really?" Stella's voice rose to a high-pitch.

"Promise." Noctis chuckled as he held up his pinky finger up in the air.

The two children rode the elevator back up to the empty car park, and then onto the highest floor of the museum, where all the cafe and restaurants gathered to form the food court.

The food court was everything that you would expect from the typical interior designs of Lucis architecture.

Modern glassy walls enclosed on both gourmet restaurants and fast-food franchise takeaways that were decked with neon advertisement signs.

It wasn't difficult to find Noctis's crew.

One simply had to search the room for three teenage boys who would infuriate the fashion police to come chasing after them, for the crime of committing cringe-worthy fashion sense in public.

Homeless Prompto was waiting with Gladiolus; snuggled into his athlete uniform, his protective helmet and knee pads fastened on to his well-built frame.

The lean boy beside them looked every bit the geek as anyone _could_ look; nerdy dungarees, huge spectacles and high-knee socks.

Who could this be, but the bookworm Ignis?

Stella struggled to fight her uncontrollable desire to whoop into villainous laughter at the drug dealing gang leader re-uniting with his mob; the beggar, the jock and the nerd.

"Sup boss! Me and the nerd was hanging out at the sixth floor looking at vintage _postcards_. Ignis was fascinated as ever with those educational bull shit, but I was _bored as hell_." Gladiolus wailed.

"Ignis will always be like that. Good to see you're in good shape player of the month." Noctis punched Gladiolus's exposed biceps in a playful manner.

"I'm hungry! What are we gonna eat?" Prompto whined.

"Ah hem…" Ignis coughed deliberately to draw attention.

"I think its _courtesy_ for us to hear Lady Stella's opinion of what she wants to eat." Ignis glared at Prompto, who was still acting as careless as his usual self.

"Oh… right… my bad, Lady Stella." Prompto scratched his head.

"So what do you feel like for lunch, Lady Stella?" Gladiolus requested brightly.

"Oh… how gracious of you guys to ask… actually, I don't mind at all. I don't know much about Lucis cuisine… Noctis? Can you introduce me to something you usually enjoy?" Stella tilted her head facing Noctis.

"What? Me? Well… um… ok… how about… uh- eating something _un-royal_? We always have deluxe food all the time at home, so why don't we try out some commoner food for a change? Like… hamburgers, fries and a soft drink combo? You know, stuff that normal people eat." Noctis asserted as if he just came up with the most brilliant idea in history.

"Wow! Sure! I've always wanted to eat ordinary fast-food that civilians eat, but my mother would never let me… she said it's too _inappropriate_ for royals to eat 'that junk'." Stella quoted her mother's comments of fast-food sarcastically.

The boys all joined in on her joke.

"Right! Let's all head to the _inappropriate junk restaurant_ for the royals." Noctis led the group towards the hamburger fast-food chain.

Stella ordered the regular sized chicken burger set while the four boys ordered the supersized cheeseburger combo.

They sat down around the red plastic table in circles, Stella coincidently sitting right beside Noctis.

The boys bravely dug themselves into their 'commoner meal' as if eating a fast-food hamburger was at the top of their life's bucket list.

"Oh! Lord Regis! How my tongue has ached with longing to taste this goodness once again after all these years!" Prompto religiously savored the cheesy, warm burger in his mouth, the mayonnaise sauce oozing out of his oily lips in climatic ecstasy.

"Now _this_, is what I call _pleasure_! This baby is _delicious_! I'm gonna get me another one of these babes!" Gladiolus had already finished the first junk food of his life in a flash.

He immediately marched towards the counter to order his second burger.

Noctis remained silent while the party sang nothing but appreciation for ordinary French fries and burgers, but he too, was energetically munching into his first yummy treat of 'normal food'.

"You see, even if we go out to eat, we only visit five-star restaurants run by world-renowned professional chefs. Don't get me wrong, those foods are tasty, but we've had enough of Filet Mignon steaks in fancy platters." Ignis chimed in on the appraisal.

"Same here." Stella too found this unfamiliar burger combo very appetizing.

"It feels kind of wrong at first… but it tastes good as you get used to the exotic flavor. It tastes so different to the burger and potato chips served at home." commented Noctis as he nibbled on his packet of crispy French fries.

"I'm guessing that the chemicals embedded into these types of food won't help us build abs or anything, but hey, I'm not complaining." Ignis yammered while crunching on his chicken nuggets.

Stella and the boys chewed joyfully as they shared their first experience of junk-food.

"So, Noct. Where did you and Stella disappear off to? After I… uh… um… felt that I had done my day's worth of studying historical art… uh… I noticed you guys weren't in the same room…" Prompto stammered sheepishly.

"You mean, where did we go after your eyes got sore from seeing too much porn of naked dead women? Well… there was something I wanted to show Stella about Lucis's history downstairs." Noctis lied convincingly.

"Hey!" Prompto yelled in retaliation as everyone at the table cracked up loudly.

"Oh… me and Ignis thought uh… you and Stella might've gone away for some _private_ time." teased Gladiolus.

Stella tried to duck her head low so none of them could notice her awkward expression.

"Ooohh! Uh la la! Noct is finally reaching puberty! What did I tell you guys? I knew he was coming around to it! It's about time!" Prompto slapped Noctis on the back as a way of delivering his brotherly encouragement.

Noctis shrugged Prompto's hand off violently in embarrassment.

"It was a _historical discussion_." Noctis emphasized harshly.

"Yeah. Noctis and I just had something we wanted to find out downstairs. That's all." Stella elucidated to help Noctis out of his uncomfortable situation.

"Well… okay, okay." Prompto sleazed out his dramatic playboy slur.

"But just so you know Noct, I know _all_ about this business." Prompto winked at Noctis like a sly fox.

"Think however you want." Noctis snapped back.

Stella felt a desperate need to change the conversation topic expeditiously.

"So guys… I was wondering, what were your personal inspirations you had, to design your 'Plan B' costume?" she trailed her question in speed.

"Oh… well… for me it's obvious… wait. I suppose for the whole gang actually. You see, our Plan B costumes represent our inner and spiritual identity. We dressed up as who we are really on the inside. Who we aspire to be! For example, I've always wanted to be an athlete, Ignis is the epidemy of the archetypal nerd, Prompto is homeless because he ain't royal enough and Noct is the bad-ass gang leader because he's a rough cookie deep down, you know?" rapped Gladiolus.

"Now I think of it, it makes perfect sense!" giggled Stella as she intimately studied the boys one by one.

"Are there any other friends or members of this royal club of Lucis?" queried Stella.

"Well… we do have this guy called Cor Leonis, who's like our über strong lion babysitter. He's the Head of the Royal Family Guards, and is one of the three strongest fighters in Lucis. But the dude takes life way too seriously; he's super sensitive and strict with just about anything related with national security. He's like a warrior fire alarm." Noctis drank his coke as he elaborated on the captain of his bodyguards.

"Yeah. The dude needs to chill sometimes. This one time, we tried to play tricks on him to hide his katana while he was asleep. When he woke up, he was literally about to fume Firaga spells at us and scolded us big time about how _immature_ we are, and how important it is to him for his katana to be _right beside_ him at all times, because he is 'duty bound to watch over our safety.'" Prompto criticized.

"He's too old to join our crew anyway. He's in his early thirties. Ain't hip enough to hunt Cactuars with us, you know?" Gladiolus mumbled through his mouth full of food.

"He's a no-nonsense military type of guy sworn to protect the king and his subjects for the welfare of this country. Give the man a break. He's only doing his job." lectured Ignis.

"He sounds like an interesting person. Maybe one of you could introduce him to me someday!" Stella exclaimed.

"Yeah , sure. Although he's busy at the moment organizing security for the treaty banquet in few weeks time. All the royals from Lucis and Tenebrae are gonna be there, so Cor is really uptight with pressure to make sure there is zero infiltration and possibility of danger." conveyed Noctis.

"Lady Stella. I have a question for you too." Prompto rested his chin on his hand as he eyed Stella seriously and maliciously.

"What is it?" Stella responded gently.

"Ok, I'm gonna be blatantly straight forward. Do you have a _boyfriend_?"

Everybody sitting on the table except Prompto nearly choked on their coke and burgers, in the case of Gladiolus he gagged on both.

"I beg your pardon?" Stella blinked in astonishment at Prompto's sudden impersonal questionnaire.

She knew Prompto wasn't of noble birth and upbringing, and that he lacked royal courtesy compared to the others, but boy, she wasn't expecting _this_.

"Prompto! Shut your pie hole or I'll kick your skinny ass like a behemoth! Who do you think Lady Stella is?!" Gladiolus attacked with rage.

"What? I was just asking a simple question! She's thirteen for Bhunivelze sake! All the other girls her age have one, so I might as well figured she had one too!" Prompto defended himself against the menacing laser beam blasting through Ignis and Gladiolus's eyes.

Noctis was inadvertently sipping his coke in calm, trying not to add more tension to Prompto's drama of misbehaved mayhem.

"You're forgetting something thick head. Lady Stella is not like 'all the other girls'. She's a _royal_. As you have realized from hanging around with us, royals don't date casually like yourself. We're obligated by our parents to _date and marry_ with extra caution with selected individuals by the likes of our social status." Ignis pointed out at Prompto, who was beginning to show signs of hatred towards his own uncontrollable loud mouth.

"Yeah, but as Stella's a pretty girl, I thought she might… uh… forget it… Lady Stella I am terribly sorry for crossing the border… I was just… curious…" confessed Prompto.

"Oh… you don't need to be sorry Prompto… Actually… all my other royal friends in Tenebrae seem to have casual affairs in and out of school, but I don't have one yet." Stella answered in a soothing way to relax the rigidity surrounding Prompto.

Noctis was now sucking his straw on an empty cup.

There was no drink left to suck, but he did it anyway, to look as though he didn't find this new piece of information amusing.

"Woah. Really? That's a surprise. A pretty girl like you ought to catch a lot of attention and offers from boys our age." Prompto almost sounded lively again.

"Thank you Prompto, I appreciate your constant compliments. But I'm an indoor girl. I mostly spend time indoors in libraries, reading. I'm not too outgoing at school either." Stella gracefully wiped the grease on her lips with a tissue.

"Why? Are you interested in Stella, Prompto?" Noctis stiffly butt into the conversation out of no where, as he stopped sucking his straw to place his empty cup on the table.

"Fat chance of a guy like Prompto to hook up with a girl in the likes of Lady Stella." joked Gladiolus.

"Yeah, only in your wildest dreams mate." Ignis tapped Prompto on the shoulder for reassurance.

"No! What? Of course I know my place in the world! I was just _curious_. It's normal to ask girls this kind of stuff to get to know them a little better! We're gonna be hanging out with Lady Stella for weeks to come! Might as well break the ice a little sooner, you know?" Prompto denied as he waved his hands in retribution.

"What about you guys, do you all have girlfriends?" Stella challenged back.

"Well I broke up with mine last month. Gladiolus's first and last girlfriend was at pre-school and the most Ignis ever crushed on was his math teacher." Prompto ridiculed quirkily.

"And as for Noct, well… his testosterone is on delay compared to the rest of us. He's not too into girls." whispered Prompto.

"Shut up. Are you calling me gay?" Noctis rolled his eyes in irony.

"So basically, everyone in this table is _single and available_!" announced Prompto as he spread his arms open wide to show the celebration of teens riding solo.

"Actually, you'll be dating a new girl next month. I'm betting my new katana on it." Ignis folded his arms as he re-corrected Prompto.

"Nope! I swear that won't happen this time." rebutted Prompto as he swayed his head side to side in refusal.

"I'm on the bet." added Gladiolus.

"Count me in." adhered Noctis.

Stella sniggered as the whole gang scoffed at Prompto.

Stella's attention naturally fell upon Noctis, who was sitting right next to her.

That's when she realized that for the first time, Noctis looked genuinely happy.

Something he heard during lunch had elevated his mood, like an air balloon flying up in to the skies.


	10. Chapter 10

Prompto and Gladiolus had fallen asleep in the back seat of the limousine.

Noctis, Ignis and Stella were wide awake in the midst of the clock ticking towards seven o' clock in the evening.

They were instructed by Lord Regis to come back to the castle as early as the sun set, as it was dangerous for young royals to roam about in the public past their curfew hour.

Ignis was intently engaged with reading something on his lap top, while Stella and Noctis gazed up towards the starry night twinkling through the car window.

"Looks like they'll be passed out for a long time." Noctis poked Gladiolus to check if he would wake from his deep slumber.

Stella laughed half heartedly. "Will they be staying with us for dinner? They live at the castle, right?" she wondered.

"Yes. Everyone, including their families live at the castle. Both Ignis's and Gladiolus's parents serve the throne, so they were like my brothers growing up. Prompto, on the other hand, is a foreign fugitive. But he's still my childhood pal, although dad always joked how he's been a bad influence to me since my school days." chuckled Noctis.

"So he's like a wanted felon? Oh, I get it now. That's why he kept referring to his roots as a 'commoner'... So you met him at school?" Stella buzzed.

"Yeah. I befriended him. He's a skirt chaser, but he's a real mood maker to have around. And we really didn't mind his different social status, so I convinced dad to let him stay at our castle. It's safer for him that way, as he is a wanted man... He still visits his family now and again though." Noctis seemed to be getting better, at chatting with ease about his personal life with Stella.

It was a clear sign that he was opening himself up to her increasingly.

"Looks like the bond between you guys, is even stronger than brotherly blood. I'm jealous, because I'm also an only child, but I don't have really close friends like you…" said Stella enviously.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll find your niche soon. I was exceptionally luck to be surrounded by my friends from birth, all thanks to family ties passed down from generations. My friends were sort of… given to me really, since birth. And I'm grateful for that." expressed Noctis affectionately.

When the limousine pulled up to the entrance of the castle, Ignis shook Gladiolus and Prompto awake to attend them back to their bed chambers.

"I don't feel like dinner. I'm gonna go crash straight to bed." murmured Prompto tiredly.

"Same here." agreed Gladiolus in pain. "My stomach doesn't feel so good after so much burger dumping. I think my intestines are infected with commoner's bowl disease or something…" Gladiolus clutched his stomach in agony to scramble lifelessly to the bathroom.

"Ignis, you should dine with us tonight." suggested Noctis.

"Will the king allow it?" Ignis raised his eyebrows in sheer surprise.

"Yeah. I reckon he's realized by now you're much more mature than the rest of us to dine with foreign guests." acclaimed Noctis.

"It'll be a pleasure to do so, if I am allowed." Ignis looked almost thrilled at the thought of finally getting the chance to chat with the Tenebrae's.

* * *

The king gave special permission for Ignis to join dinner with the Tenebrae family.

Tonight's menu was fried turkey, pumpkin salad served with pie pastries on the side.

"I don't feel like greasy food anymore…" hummed Noctis in Stella's ear, as the two exchanged the inside joke.

"So… how was the Museum Tour? I got a text message from the bodyguards notifying me of your… '_abandonment_' of their company." King Regis lowered his voice slowly, as he scooped up his portion of pumpkin salad onto his dinner plate.

"Oh… Father actually, it turned out that we got along just fine without their security assistance. We had back-up plans to stay protected from the public eye." Noctis mouthed his words as he dully ransacked the food in his plate, he too, wasn't feeling too thrilled about eating tonight.

"May I inquire, what exactly was _this back-up plan_?" the King accentuated his speech, as he raised his eyebrows to his headline. His thick brows were suggesting that he was already speculating on the possibility of another round of the boy's naughty behavior.

"Plan B. It was invented by me and Ignis. But the details of it have to be maintained confidential. For copyright infringement reasons, father." simpered Noctis.

"Well, well, well…" tut-tut the King.

"I understand the generation gap between us, so I won't ask any further, but I hope this 'Plan B' isn't anything that is _misbehaved_… After all… it still gives me shivers when I remember the time when you and the boys... practiced _thunder spells_ to attempt to voltage shock the electric eels in our chef's aquarium… '_We were charging its battery'_ you said… '_its part of Ignis's science project to recharge electric eels back to its full power storage_'… those were your '_excuse_' words, Noctis…" King Regis perplexed his memory into words, as though he was retelling his anguishing nightmare.

"Oh! Dad! I mean, father! Don't bring that story back up again! That was ages ago! We were immature back then. We know better now, right Ignis?" Noctis wailed in self-denial.

"Actually, it was during winter of last year." Ignis the betrayer corrected.

The Tenebrae family burst into tears laughing their lungs off, as Noctis slumped in remorse humiliation into his seat.

"Duke Fleuret of Tenebrae, I wanted to ask whether other foreign guests other than the royals from Tenebrae and Lucis, will be attending the treaty banquet in few weeks time?" Ignis inquired Stella's father with his to-die-for angelic manners.

"Oh, yes. I received an official notification that Idola Eldercapt, the leader of Niflheim, will be attending the party. Why do you ask, Ignis?" commended the Duke politely.

"I was just wondering whether there will be honorary guests from other nations I can interview for my upcoming school project. It's one of the exclusive advantages of hanging out with the prince." replied Ignis in a well-mannered fashion, as he smirked at Noctis to pay homage.

"Unfortunately, I must express that I highly doubt you will get the opportunity to interview Idola Eldercapt of all people, Ignis. Idola is not only a busy man, but he doesn't particularly seem to have affection towards young children, nor does he make time for them to aid their school projects." declared the king.

"Oh yes Lord Regis. I've read a little about Idola Eldercapt during social sciences classes. And I was well aware of that. I just wanted to make sure that no one else from Solheim or Accordo might be attending... Thank you for the precaution though, sir. I appreciate it." Ignis dug his fork into the pie pastry in delight.

* * *

Stella was exhausted, and she also didn't feel that her bodily condition was up to scratch.

Her first attempt at eating commoner fast-food seemed to be having a toll on Stella's fragile physique.

"Stella, wait up for me!" Noctis called out to her as he ran towards Stella in the spiral staircase.

"Hey Noctis." Stella whirled around to greet her new friend.

"Listen… uh…" Noctis peered three hundred and sixty degrees around his surroundings, to make sure that no one was within distance of hearing their conversation.

"I think we should sneak out. _Tonight_." Noctis whispered.

"Tonight?! But… aren't you… tired…? And also… all of us seem to be feeling a bit… slushy on the inside from all that junk-food… maybe tonight is not the best time, Noctis…" Stella rumbled passively.

"That's exactly why tonight is the best chance we have at this Stella. When everyone is tired and sluggish, we're more likely to dash pass them unnoticed. Prompto has a sensitive ear and if he sees us escaping past bed hours, he will literally go the whole nine yards to follow us into the depths of the library. He can't help himself with anything adventurous. And as for Ignis, he's a sleepwalker when he's in his optimum condition... Strange fella... _Gladiolus_… his feet vibrate the ground too loudly in the dark for some unknown reason. If we go with him, we're doomed. So I reckon we should go tonight, when all the boys are busy sleeping their eyes off." Noctis accelerated his undertone with a thrilled glint in his eye.

"Ok… if you insist Noctis… after all, who have I got to trust but you? You do know the people here and the castle layout more than anyone… so… I trust you… What time are we sneaking out into this secret lair?" Stella hissed her voice low as if she was sharing a naughty gossip with Noctis.

"I'll come escort you from your bedroom at around one A.M. sharp, so we can tip toe past the guards together to the Grand Library. It'll be better if you're by my side, because you don't know how to stunt the guards or know all the short-cuts in the castle. I have a lot of years of experience of sneaking past during late hours. And… I've only been caught a few times by Cor… but he's not around today. He's away." hinted Noctis excitedly.

"Ok! Sounds… fun…! I'm looking forward to it. Anything I should prepare or take with me?" she muttered.

"Just practice holding your breath for a long time, in cases of emergencies. And wear something black. And nothing that glitters or glows in the light. In case of emergencies, I'm gonna use my sleep or sleepga spells in the worst circumstances, just in case we bump into the night guards that patrol around the castle for security. Also… don't be afraid to cast sleep spells on the boys… like I said… Ignis sleepwalks… but I think he's too tired to do so tonight… I hope… and get a good night's sleep to wake up at one A.M. That's all. See you soon, Stella." advised Noctis quietly.

He gave one last faint smile at Stella, and dashed back towards his own bed chamber.

"Good Night Noctis! See you in a few hours!" Stella mumbled back into the dark corridor, hoping that everything will go as planned during their secret midnight expedition.


	11. Chapter 11

The door creaked open vehemently in the desolate vacuüm.

Stella slowly blinked through her droopy eyes to peer back at a pair of light ocean colored eyes glowing back at her in the night.

"It's one A.M. The castle should be empty by now… are you ready Stella?" Noctis whispered in a deafening hush.

"Noctis… good evening… I'm sorry… I fell asleep… just hold on for a sec." Stella whimpered tiredly.

She sprang up from her bed to hang a black trench coat over her dark silky nightgown.

Noctis was also dragging a heavy black coat on top of his silky onyx pajamas.

The pair of young boogeyman gently crept out of the room into the empty pitch black corridor.

"Noctis… I can't see anything… don't we need like a… torch?" Stella said softly.

"No, that's too risky. We don't want to draw the attention of night guards on patrol around the castle. There are still some around as part of their guard duty. Just hold my hand and follow my footsteps. Trust me; I know where we're going." Noctis's palms intertwined around Stella's bony fingers as he led Stella through the blindness.

Stella could only barely scope out the shape of Noctis's spiky hair from the back, as her feet mildly trotted behind Noctis's light, feathery pace.

They tiptoed into the silent night, plunging deeper and deeper into the invisible canopy of lurking shadows.

The moonlight peeking through the windows paved their limited vision.

The sound of Noctis's feet were professionally muted to the hilt, as if he had already mastered the art of midnight get-away expeditions from his earliest days.

But Stella's inexperience of sneaking out at night way past her bed hours, was clearly evident.

Her night slippers let out a creak every now and then, all to Noctis's unexpressed dismay.

When the two children rounded the corner of the aisle on the fourth floor, the sudden noise of a man groaning with intense pain, jolted their senses into shockwave frenzy.

The cry of the agony intensified as it seemed to be approaching them closer and closer…

"Quick! Let's hide!" Noctis buzzed as he pulled Stella's hand fiercely towards the nearest room they could find.

It was the infirmary, the nursing room of the castle, where all the injured and the sick came to visit the castle's doctor and nurse for magical potions, ethers, softs, echo screens, eye drops and the like.

Everybody who lived in the castle would come here often for casual health check-ups monthly, or to cure everything from monster bites to daily sicknesses.

The wooden cabinet glittered with tall stacks of ample, glassy and colorful potion bottles, that shined in the shades of the rainbow under the moonlight.

But the racket of grunting still followed them, until they were well aware that there was no way of escaping this mysteriously grumbling man.

Noctis tugged Stella towards the nearest cupboard door, locking themselves tightly together, in the claustrophobic clutter of cloth bandages and medicines.

Their bodies gasped for breath in the midst of such confined jumble of stuff that pinched at them from every side.

Stella's ear was positioned right next to Noctis's chest, and she could now hear Noctis's heart beating in rhythm to her own racing ventricle.

Her shoulders were glued intimately to Noctis's torso.

They both held their breaths in effort to make their presence unknown, to the big masculine figure that entered the sick bay.

They could now make out the tenor of this mysterious figure scrimmage through the cabinets in rough urgency, all the while trying to maintain his quietness as best he could, in his desperate situation.

Whoever this person was, they were searching for something.

A cure, some potion or item that would relieve them of their painful suffering as soon as possible.

The ransacking continued until the mysterious figure let out another ache of disappointment, as he realized that what he was looking for was nowhere to be found.

Finally, the heavy footsteps approached the cupboard of where Noctis and Stella were hiding.

Stella held her breath further to shut her eyes, as she hugged Noctis out of mortal fear for their safety.

A torch-light vibrantly blazed on her closed eyelids as she heard Noctis shriek utter surprise in response to their new guest's unplanned scream of terror.

"Gladiolus?! What are _you_ doing here?!" Noctis hissed with nasty snake venom foaming through his note.

"Woah! Noct! And Lady Stella…?! I didn't expect to find you guys here either! I was looking for a painkiller to relieve my stomach cramp… after all that junk food. I think I caught the commoner's food poisoning… I just couldn't sleep with this discomfort!" sobbed Gladiolus.

Noctis immediately let go of his embrace of Stella in awkwardness.

"The painkiller is on the top shelf of the medicine cabinet. You should've used your torch and searched for it patiently, rather than _rummage _ through everything to wake up the whole castle..." sighed Noctis as he grabbed Stella's hand out of the small cupboard.

"Oh… I'm sorry… I was desperate… I feel so sick… thanks for the tip though." Gladiolus quickly tumbled towards the potion cabinet to grab the nearby ladder.

As soon as he found what he was looking for, he gulped down the painkiller, like a thirsty hyena that was stranded in the middle of the desert.

Gladiolus let out a loud exhale of relief and comfort, as he tenderly massaged his own tummy in pleasure.

"Oh… that feels so much better instantly… Lucis potions are the best…" he let out a triumph of victory a little too audibly in the reticent night.

"Shush! Now go back to bed!" whispered Noctis.

"What? Back to bed? By myself? Noct! Where do you think you're going without me past bed hours? And where are you taking Lady Stella, at a time way past her beauty sleep time?" Gladiolus finally recollected his senses as he demanded to know the answer.

"It's none of your business... Me and Stella have somewhere we need to attend to." Noctis spoke brashly.

"What?! But it's too dangerous on your own! What if you get caught? You'll get poor Lady Stella into trouble!" Gladiolus argued with his might.

"_Shush_! We'll all get into trouble if you keep your volume up!" Noctis screeched faintly through gritted teeth.

"But…!" Gladiolus defended.

Noctis sighed out a restrained breath from his lungs in surrender.

"Look… if you're going to keep arguing with us, just follow us _quietly_ to where ever we're going. But you have to agree that you will obey my orders once we're at our destination. No questions, no rejections, no exceptions. Deal?" Noctis offered what he thought was the most immediate, diplomatic solution to cease the nightly bickering.

"Ok… as long as I get to follow you two to make sure you guys don't wind up in trouble… I accept. Although… can I ask where we are going at this hour?" Gladiolus questioned.

"No." Noctis replied curtly.

"Follow and guard, or leave us and sleep. Those are your only options." Noctis demanded straight forwardly.

"The first one." chose Gladiolus.

The trio indistinctly shuffled out of the infirmary, as they swayed their heads side to side to double-check upon their solitude company.

"I hope I haven't woken all the guards nearby…" Gladiolus murmured with sincere regret trailing beneath his voice.

"You would've awoken half of them by now… just make sure your feet don't clamor like the last time we sneaked out…" warned Noctis.

Noctis once again grasped Stella's hand in protection, as he led the three towards the third floor of the castle.

The night guards that guarded the bedroom chambers on the third floor were half asleep, but they still managed to stand up while sleeping, their heads bobbed up and down in dizziness.

"They're dozing off! We could creep past them, or cast Sleepga on the whole lot and make a run for it." Noctis weighed on his two options with caution.

"I say option two." Gladiolus suggested out of his many years of sneaky experiences.

"Whatever Noctis chooses." chimed in Stella.

"Alright. Get ready guys, just stay here until I give you the hand signal, then follow me."

Noctis rolled up his pajama sleeves with a determined look on his face, as he readied his position to cast Sleepga on the night guards that were ironically, already half asleep.

Just then, a thin silhouette slowly lurked towards him in the dark.

The footsteps were not deliberately lowered in volume, nor were there any sign of hesitation in its feet to move forward at a steady and well-controlled pace.

"Who's there?!" the night guard snapped out of his incomplete nap, as he readied his weapon towards the figure slithering towards him.

"Show yourself!" demanded the second night guard.

Noctis let out a silent grunt of true discontentment, as the view of Ignis morphed into full exposure.

He couldn't help express his automatic objection at his friend's inevitable sleep walking habit.

"Not this again Ignis… why must you sleep walk _tonight_, of all days." Noctis muttered through his breath.

The night guards relaxed their tense muscles at this all too familiar scenery.

During their long careers, Ignis's arbitrary sleepwalking was part of their work regime, a repeated routine they would run into once in a while; when they almost forgot about the fact that the son of the king's high councilor had an incurable habit of sleepwalking randomly at night.

Ignis always came to visit them during midnight at certain times of the month, to remind them of his existence now and then.

"Sir Ignis. I think we should escort you back to your chamber." offered the night guard politely.

But Ignis as usual, wasn't easily compromised. His sleepwalking was intense, almost so that one would sometimes have to slap him on the face for him to come to his senses.

He walked straight past the guard's gentle maneuver, towards Noctis.

The guards turned around to spot Noctis standing still, dumbfounded by this whole ridiculous scenario.

His usually intelligent and cool friend marched towards him unconsciously, while the night guards gasped to find the prince on loose once again in the middle of the night.

Noctis hastily switched on his impulsive judgment, as he blasted Sleepga spells with his left hand on the guards, who seemed as if they were ready to take him to the king for the death penalty.

The heads of the guards dropped on the marble floor with a loud thud, their bodies lifelessly resting in peace along the pavement instantly.

Ignis, however, was unaffected by the Sleepga spell, namely due to the fact that he was… in his own way, _already full asleep_.

The resonance of the night guards' skulls crashing on the floor, had echoed across the noiseless castle.

"Quick! Let's get the hell out of here before the recruitment comes!" Noctis ushered Gladiolus and Stella, who were hiding in fear behind the corner.

"What about Ignis? We can't just leave the poor dude! They'll blame him for casting Sleepga to the guards! Magic spells aren't allowed in the castle, remember?" whooped Gladiolus.

Noctis let out another round of a broken sigh.

"You're right. It ain't a very honorable act for a prince to abandon his comrade." Noctis walked over to Ignis to shake him out of his subconscious dream land in hurry.

Ignis finally blinked his eyes like an innocent puppy, after Noctis gave him a slight slap on the face out of sheer irritation, at Ignis's initial lack of responsiveness.

"What…? Where am I…?" Ignis croaked like a mad kitten that was forced out of its cozy spot near the fireplace.

"Reality. You're back in reality Ignis." Noctis cooed.

"Have I been sleepwalking…? Yet… again…?" Ignis face palmed in shame.

"Yes. And before you ask any more questions, we have to get out of here, or we'll be grounded for a month for casting Sleepga on the night guards again." yapped Noctis in speed.

Ignis nodded without question, as the four hurriedly slid out of crime scene, just in time to witness the night guards wandering in awe, as they spotted their comrades lie dead asleep on the ground.

Noctis clasped his hand around Stella's wrist again, while Ignis and Gladiolus trailed mutely behind them down the spiral staircase, towards the bottom floor of the castle.

"Where are we going?" whispered Ignis sheepishly.

"Your haven." Snapped Noctis.

"What? We're going to the library? But it's closed!" Ignis corrected.

Noctis said nothing as he continued to dash in silence down to reach the locked Grand Library on the underground floor.

Noctis dunk his hand in the pocket soles of his dark coat to pull out his ID card.

He scanned his card across the laser device, as the gate welcomed the four inside its walls.

"Can I turn on my torch now?" begged Gladiolus, as he wriggled like a coward into the dim somber library.

"Yes." replied Noctis.

Gladiolus's torch-light could only shine a ball of light upon the dingy, barren library.

There was literally no sound except the articulated footsteps of the four teenagers, silently echoing through the grand and desolate hall.

"Would you walk a little quieter Gladiolus?" hissed Noctis.

"Sorry… I can't help it… I'm just heavier than the rest of you, you know?" whined Gladiolus.

"Well if you keep the noise up, I'm gonna cast Firaga to burn your fat cells off." joked Noctis.

"Geez… you're so uptight tonight Noct…" criticized Gladiolus as he torched their way through the overcast.

"Well, if it weren't for you two, I wouldn't have to be…" Noctis trailed his speech.

Noctis led the trio towards the worn out bookshelf made of oak trees, the section of the library that lay far away from the main abbey.

He stopped in dead track, once he neared the shelves that housed thick books in blue binders.

It was then, that Stella knew that Noctis had found the entrance to the secret lair of the library.

The rows of books spelt out the words: 'K-E-Y-O-F-L-U-C-I-S' backwards, in a horizontal pattern.

One would have to have known that this referred to the key retrieved from the Lucis Museum, in order to figure out what it meant.

But what was Noctis going to do now, that both Gladiolus and Ignis was here to witness the opening of a hidden room in the library?

Stella remembered what Noctis mentioned earlier about the possibility of Ignis finding out about the secret den in the Grand Library: _"__If Ignis knew about a hidden section in the library that shelves hundreds of books and files about Lucis's darkest classified insider information, he'll go nuts trying to do anything to get in there. That bookworm will literally camp in there to live there for days if I told him about this lair, which isn't a smart thing to do… Ignis's family has served our throne for generations, advising ration and counseling wisdom with my forefathers. But to give them in on the more… __discrete__ stuff isn't a wise choice."_

Noctis paused in front of the bookshelf without saying a word.

"Noctis, what are we doing here?" asked Ignis curiously.

"Yeah, Noct. What's out business down here anyway at this hour?" Gladiolus joined in, breaking his early contract with Noctis of the 'no questions, no exceptions' rule.

Noctis stood there as hard as a stone, lost in his own thoughts.

Only Stella realized that Noctis was rummaging his brains for a solution.

A solution to be alone.

Alone with just him and Stella.


	12. Chapter 12

"There's something I want you guys to do for me." Announced Noctis firmly.

"What is it Captain?" saluted Gladiolus in a jesting manner.

"Well… _supposedly_, there is an ancient treasure map… hidden between the pages of a book in the library." Noctis stammered so subtly, that only Stella could detect the tint of lie in Noctis's brief hesitations.

Noctis saw the fire glint in Ignis's eyes blazing through his spectacles.

Ignis would _kill_ for anything that involved logical puzzle solving, especially if it gave him the chance to play Mr. mysterious detective in any given circumstance.

"I'm in." Ignis affirmed without second thought or doubt crossing his mind.

"So am I." Gladiolus believed in gullible passion.

Stella realized that Noctis would have been a very honest person to his friends up until now, seeing as his friends never showed even the slightest smear of skepticism, at the possibility of Noctis providing them with a false detour.

"So where is this… book…?" Gladiolus questioned.

"Well… it's actually said to be way over there yonder… where the non-fiction section is, near the… uh… geography and biology section." lied Noctis.

"Ok… so… we should all go look for a book over there together right?" Ignis suggested.

"Well, actually, I'm not exactly positive where this map is hidden… so I think we should split up. Ignis, you scramble through the geography books while Gladiolus… you have a look through the biology books. Meanwhile, me and Stella will look through this section. We can't have a Lady defenseless in the dark, right?" Noctis alleged in persuasion.

"But... Where did this… _information_ come from?" Ignis asked coldly.

It seemed as if the very first thought of doubt had finally entered Ignis's sly and sharp mind.

"It's… confidential. I'll tell you more about it later. Right now, our job is to find this treasure map, so we can go hunt for the treasure during the remainder of our holidays. I have no time to explain the details… but the prize will be split between us." Noctis asserted his excuse with everything he could, to come up with a trustworthy lie in the short space of time.

"Well… why haven't you mentioned anything about this _treasure map_ up until now…? And why is Stella involved in this? If it is confidential…" Ignis's eye brows were elevating up and up, until even Stella was starting to feel nervous.

"I told him about it." lied Stella.

"You see, that's what me and Noctis discussed in the Lucis Museum in private you see, if I explain the whole thing now, we'll probably be here all night. You can trust me on this one Ignis. You know how sharp Noctis is, he's not the type to be fooled by a foreign guest…" Stella pushed her courage to defend Noctis.

"Ok… well… I suppose you are right about the last part… we know Noctis isn't the type to act on false information… " contemplated Ignis thoughtfully.

"well then, I entrust Lady Stella to your care Noctis. Come over to our section once you're done with yours. You guys should take less time than us, seeing as you guys are searching for it together." Ignis nodded his head briefly towards Noctis, as he readied to leave the company with full obedience.

Stella found it hard to hide her inner giggles that were dying to escape as soon as Ignis and Gladiolus was out of sight.

Noctis's false persuasion had flown beyond the creativity charts, to the territory of childish fairy tales.

But Ignis and Gladiolus gave no further second thought and obliged faithfully to their trustworthy prince.

They went their ways far away into the pitch blackness, until Stella and Noctis could see them no more.

Once Noctis had peered through his heels to double-check on their absolute absences, Noctis finally turned to face Stella.

"Right. Area clear. They'll probably be busy looking for an invisible treasure map all night. We should hurry inside before they have second thoughts." Noctis hummed.

"Oh Noctis! You're such a meanie!" rebuked Stella.

"Hey! I'm usually an honest guy… but tonight… I had no choice… I'll tell you later." Noctis pulled out one of the blue books with the letter "I" printed on its thick binder.

There was a worn key hole on the wall, attached deep behind the edge of the shelf.

The key lock blended in such invisible translucency against the wall, so that Noctis had to shine the torch-light upon it to insert his key properly.

One would easily look past the key hole, if they weren't trying to look for its specific location.

He turned the lock clockwise three times, and then three times anti-clockwise.

The bookshelf silently slid downwards into the ground, so that a door replaced its place.

Noctis now scanned his left eye across the scanner embedded onto the door.

The door opened ever so quietly, so that Stella was sure that Ignis and Gladiolus weren't distracted from their attentive task of looking for a non-existent map.

"Ready?" Noctis glanced at Stella.

"Ready." she whispered back.

Noctis and Stella entered through the door to find a narrow, long room full of shelves of ancient files and documents stored secretly away from anyone outside the royal family.

Noctis locked the door knob behind them.

"This is the confidential of the confidentials, Lady Tenebrae. You better keep our pact. What happens in this room stays in this room. Got that?" Noctis reminded her for the last time.

"Yes, your majesty." Agreed Stella as the excitement burst through her lungs.

Noctis glossed his torch upon the shelves lined in alphabetical order.

"S, S, S… Somnus… where are you…?" Noctis under noted as he neared the "S" section of the secret lair.

"Ah hah. _Discovery_." Noctis grinned proudly.

They were now standing across the wide "S" section.

It encompassed more than a thousand files neatly stacked side by side each other in ancient harmony.

"Right. Let's look for something that starts with 'Somnus' or 'Sleep'."

Stella nodded in agreement as the two eagerly examined through the files for anything related with their number one topic of interest.

After minutes of sweaty inspection, Stella came across a file named under the title "_Somnus Legend: Photocopy_".

"Noctis! I found something!" Stella couldn't control her initial high-pitched squeal.

"Shh! Ok, what did you find?" Noctis peered over Stella's shoulder.

"It looks like a photocopied document of the book that the King mentioned during our first dinner! You know, the one that he said the end was ripped out?" she exclaimed in a hush voice.

"Ok, nice job Stella! Now, let's have a look!" Noctis rubbed his hands in anticipation.

Noctis got out the grey protection gloves from the bottom draw of the shelf to gently handle the fragile photocopy.

Even if it wasn't the original file, Noctis still had the royal obligation to treat his family's top secrets with delicate respect.

Noctis opened the neatly packed file as he caught his own breath in elation.

The photocopies were blueprints from the ancient book.

Ink smudges were sporadically smeared across a few pages.

Some of the writings were written in foreign alphabets that Stella couldn't understand, but Noctis seemed to be able to read it with ease.

He skim read page after page in a fast pace, until he finally found an information worth sharing with Stella.

Luckily, it was written in a language Stella too, could read.

The document read:

_**The Hidden Powers of the Crystal of Lucis**_

_The authorized ownership of the crystal belongs to the fate of those who were born with legal birth rights, to wield its power._

_They must be either the rightful heir to the throne of the crystal's dominion, or have to be blessed by a deity in order to wield such a power._

_**Stage One: Power of Combat**_

◦_The wielder is able to transport with the power of the crystal, to any place desirable (allocated within a reasonable distance)._

◦_The wielder can summon their weapon out of thin air, using the power of the warp system._

◦_The wielder can link forms of the multiple weapons in battle. They can either use these numerous weapons to float around them for defense usage, or switch between these weapons to their will, for attacks._

_**Stage Two: Power of Etro**_

◦_If the wielder comes close to an event that threatens their life, which poses a threat to fulfill their given focus, the wielder and their lover will receive both a blessing and a curse from the Goddess Etro. The deity will predestine a meeting that is bound to be forgotten in memory. The memory shared between the wielder and their partner that shares the same destiny and focus, will be erased from each other's history. _

◦_Such memory loss is to make sure that the two pairs of the eyes of Etro are not used in communion. An alliance between the two fated souls will only result in tragedy, as the Sky of the Night's Light cannot be one with the Night Star Foil._

◦_If the wielder accepts their given destiny (the fate of the L'Cie) to witness the dead leaving this world and into the unseen realm, their memories of their star-crossed partner will return to normal. But as a consequence, Etro will further bestow a secondary power to their "eyes that see the light of expiring souls" to foresee a person's death. _

_**Stage Three (Final Stage): Power of Somnus**_

◦_The wielder is able to re-awaken the living dead._

Noctis stopped reading the document aloud to Stella, as he came by the dead-end of the document.

"The remainder of Stage three is ripped, and thus there in no further photocopy available." sighed Noctis.

"It's just like what the King said. Someone has ripped off the integral part of the myth…" Stella said softly.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure if this is a myth anymore… the stage one of the crystal's power…_I've seen it with my own eyes_… I've seen dad… conjure up swords out of thin air…" Noctis mumbled in puzzled behavior to himself.

"For real…? You mean… this sort of power… _actually exists_…?" Stella couldn't believe her own ears.

"Yes… at least, from what I've seen… dad summons his falchion at will with this… magical blue fluorescence…" murmured Noctis.

"Wow… I never knew such… miracle was possible… at least not in our day and age…" Stella gasped in shock.

"Although I'm not so sure about the validity of Stage two and three…We should read a few more pages for more info…" Noctis flicked through the document to find any further information that was relevant.

What he ended up finding though, was another poem.

The title of the poem attracted Noctis and Stella's full attention. It read:

_**Somnus by Yoko Shimomura**_

_The God sleeps_

_And the children light a flame:_

_He never dies,_

_He can never awake_

_The dear and lovable tragedy_

_Divides everything_

_In the endless night,_

_In desperation,_

_He may see the aurora_

_It's just the time to revive._

"Don't tell me this leads to another riddle…" puffed Noctis in agitation.

"But this all seems… linked… somehow… like how this sleeping god can never awake… but somehow he will… 'revive' in the end." Noted Stella.

"Yeah… the problem is… no one that we know of is sleeping so 'that he can never awake'… well, except maybe Ignis during his sleepwalk…" chuckled Noctis.

Stella cracked up "Noctis, you were a bit of a meanie to Gladiolus and Ignis back then…"

"I know…" admitted Noctis sincerely.

"It's just that if I get caught sneaking out with a foreign guest like you… we'll all get into serious trouble by my father… and worst of all, if he ever finds out that I've literally shown you the secret den of the Grand Library… well, let's just say that you might even get '_kicked out of Lucis, for deceiving the prince to spill out classified information of the royals_'… this whole thing will be much more serious with a foreigner involved, especially with someone from Tenebrae... as the alliances between our countries is still very vague… the consequences with you, will be much more severe than the boys' usual midnight expeditions, Stella…" Noctis explained seriously.

"Oh… I understand… if you see it that way… it makes sense that you were extra cranky with the boys…" Stella now understood why Noctis was behaving out of his usual manners towards his best friends.

Noctis laughed "I can be… quite… brash… in times of need… I'll make it up to them soon. Don't worry, we're like brothers. We can understand and forgive each other for nearly everything… even if we can't quite explain our current or real situation…" Noctis smiled.

Suddenly, a clunker sound near the entrance door alarmed the two children in paralyzed panic.

The key hold of the entrance of the secret lair was turning clockwise.

Someone was trying to open the door.

Noctis figured in that second that this could only be the worst intruder to spot him with a foreigner in the highly confidential lair…

_Only one_ other person in the world had access and knowledge of this room.

It could be none other than _King Regis_ himself.


	13. Chapter 13

"Quick hide!" reported Noctis.

Stella felt her blood vessels contract as if she had hypertension.

Stella quickly turned back and forth, stumbling around desperately to find a place to hide, racing against the clock ticking to her doom.

She shuddered at the thought of being caught by the King of Lucis in this room... alone with Noctis…

Stella will be accused of deceiving the prince to spill the beans on his Kingdom furtively.

In the worst case, her parents might even be falsely blamed for manipulating young Stella as part of their coup scheme against Lucis.

If that were to happen, she and Noctis will never be allowed to see each other ever again…

Stella swiftly found a wooden stool, one that was used for height elevation purposes to reach for books on the higher shelves.

She stood on to the top of the stool, and climbed on the stabilized book shelf to the top of its compartment.

She lied horizontally, sticking her small frame like glue on its top compartment.

Noctis was ready to greet his father at the door.

He steadied himself by exhaling in and out, to cover up his jitters in pretended calm.

The door finally slid open, as King Regis stepped in to flip out in bewilderment at his son's unexpected presence.

"Noctis! What are you doing here at this hour? I thought I returned your key back to the Museum's B4 underground level, after you told me you didn't need it anymore…" the king blinked his eyes expeditiously in astonishment.

"Hi… Dad… I couldn't sleep… so I figured I needed a little brushing up to do… you know, as I'm nearing my legal age, I reckon I needed some uh… intellectual enlightenment…" Noctis mumbled.

King Regis roused up an elderly half-pleased contentment as he poked his son's chubby cheeks in adoration.

"Oh son… you've got five years until you come of age… you've still got days ahead of you to do so. No need to rush." His father said fondly.

"What about you dad? What are you here for at this hour?" Noctis asked back.

"Same excuse as you… I… had a lot on my mind… you know… the political pressure to make sure the upcoming treaty banquet goes as according to plan… it's taking a toll on my sleep patterns lately…" blabbed the King grimly.

"Things at work not going too well?" Noctis looked genuinely concerned at his father's lately accelerated crow's-feet in his eyes.

"Well… you could say it is, but you could say it isn't. ah… Noctis, when you're a bit older you will understand… the adult world of politics… your naïvety wouldn't understand… for the moment, let's just leave it at that." He smiled.

"But the business with the Tenebraes is turning out better than expected. The Fleuret family are very negotiable, rational and easily co-operable. But Idola Eldercapt… ah…that man will always be a bit of a hurdle…" chuckled the King in good manner.

"What about you boy? How are things warming up between you and Stella? Have you befriended her yet? She is a very pretty girl after all." winked the King.

"Yes… we bonded quite a bit in the Museum…" Noctis murmured with blushed cheeks.

Noctis didn't want to comment in further detail, especially not while the devil of the topic was on undercover on top of a bookshelf, secretly listening in on their conversation.

"Ah, to be honest… from the moment I saw her, I knew you would draw towards her. Her eyes remind me a lot of you mother…" King Regis trailed off into his own solo memory.

"If you say so…" uttered Noctis quietly.

"Son, as it has been quite a while since we last had time alone together, why don't we have some father to son time tonight? Come here, there's something I want to show you." The king walked over to where Stella was hiding on top of the book shelf.

Noctis's neck muscles tensed into a breathless strain of adrenaline, as he nervously wished for his father to surpass Stella's presence nearby.

His wish was granted, when the king stopped by a bookshelf that lay three columns away from where Stella was hiding on.

She could spot the King's slicked back hair and black bed robes from a bird's-eye view, as she peered down upon the prince anxiously following his father towards a bookshelf few meters away from where she lay.

The King danced his fingers rapidly to search for a thick file within a section of his reach.

The tall King finally settled upon his fixed choice of files as he pulled out the rubber protection gloves from the bottom drawer, to delicately open the documented files.

Unlike the previous documents that Stella and Noctis found, this one was the authentic original copy, instead of the blueprint photocopied version.

The way the edges of the files were torn and eaten away from the ages, delivered its ancient history.

"What is this Dad?" Noctis puzzled curiously.

Stella stretched her neck as far as she could, to snoop and focus from her distanced position, at what the King was showing Noctis.

"This, my lad, is the real copy of our family's secret to power. By power, I don't mean just physical power, although the detail of the falchion that was passed down the dynasty is noted in here, I mean _emotional and spiritual power_. The power to keep sealed in your heart when no one is by your side." Noctis's father declared solemnly.

The document displayed a painting of a divine goddess like figure, sleeping on her own arms that were folded beneath her chin.

She peacefully laid her head to rest of her hands.

Her long cloak was flowing sideways to her right, as the sun shined behind her head on her left.

The colors of the painting were blended in an array of different shades of dark blue and black palettes.

The painting took Noctis's breath away as he studied its fine minute detail of the brush strokes and inked edges that stood the test of time.

"This is a work painted by the legendary artist Yoshitaka Amano. The painting still survives to this day. It is supposed to be an allegorical symbol of the Kingdom of Lucis. I'm guessing that this is the first time you have seen this." The King glanced back at Noctis for his reaction.

"Yes… I've never come across this during my history classes… who is it?" Noctis squinted at the painting with interest.

"She is the Femme Fatale of the story of one of the most ancient myths around… it's a long story… still want to hear it?" inquired the King.

"Yeah! I mean… _Yes please, father, _if you may." Noctis coughed in between his speech to re-instigate his manners.

"Well then, grab two stools by the corner, will you? This should be like our past bed time story sessions… just like the good old times again." The king rubbed his hands as he reflected back on his fond memories with the younger Noctis.

Noctis grabbed two wooden stools for him and his father to snuggle comfortably on.

He leaned into one of his father's old tales.

"Well, it all begins many centuries ago… I'm King Regis the CXIII, so… well… let's just multiply that by roughly eighty years and you'll get the general idea. It was a _long_ time ago. It dates back to the very first king of Lucis. Can you guess what his name was, son?" Regis relaxed on his stool with comfort and ease as he began his tale.

"S_omething _Lucis Caelum?" snickered Noctis.

"Very close. In fact, his name _was_ Lucis Caelum. He was your great, great, great, great, great… ah… let's just say he was the great ancestor of me and you." King Regis simplified his note.

"So, we are talking about the founder of the Lucis Kingdom? The very one, whose brothers were named Accordo, Solheim, Tenebrae and Niflheim?" Noctis interrogated eagerly.

"You guessed it. Yes, he was the first father of our kingdom. In the pages of history, King Lucis Caelum the First, is remembered for his peaceful character, his efforts in trying to establish peace with the other nations… but this tale tells a different side of his life… a life that was full of tragedy and sorrow…" Noctis's father enunciated in a downbeat pitch.

"_Tragedy_? What sort? You mean the tragedy of separating away from his brothers in conflict because of the war over crystals?" Noctis blinked his narrow eyes wider.

"Well in this case, the story tells a different side of tragedy. One that has been forgotten in history. It was the tragedy of unrequited _love_." Spoke his father quietly.

"With Queen Caelum the First?" queried Noctis.

"Not quite… it was the unfulfilled love with a foreign royal lady… can you guess where this Femme Fatale came from?" the King tested his son ambiguously.

Deep within his heart, it seemed as if the answer was long engraved into him from the existence of time.

He somehow knew the answer before he materialized it into verbal words.

"Tenebrae…?" whispered Noctis.

"Yes… she wasn't related to Lucis or to the royal bloodline of Tenebrae, but she was the daughter of a close associate of the Kingdom… you can say… she was similar to the position of where Stella is, if you put it into contemporary context." The King spoke softly.

Noctis gulped covertly "So… what happened between the two…? With… King Lucis the First and his… foreign _girlfriend_...?"

"Well… the story begins when the two of them were both young and inexperienced man and women, when they were both new to the world of political and scandalous lifestyles of the royals. The innocent couple met each other at a treaty dance party, and well… this may sound cliché, but they _fell in love at first sight_." said his father.

"Wow. _Big surprise there_. What a generic way to meet." joked Noctis sarcastically.

"Yes… although that does happen in real life Noctis. When you're a bit older, you may even experience this for yourself… the mysterious magnet that exists invisibly between a man and a woman… sometimes you feel as if they are predestined by the divine… as if God himself made one for the other." conveyed Regis.

Noctis dropped his gaze towards the floor.

Although he was not yet of the age to know what true love was, he felt that he could _sort of _understand what his father was referring to.

The past few days of his life had exposed a new side of his character that even he didn't know about.

Such as, acting rashly to his friends to make sure Stella doesn't get caught sneaking out with him in the middle of the night…

Feeling all tensed up and agitated about the possibility of people dishing out about what he and Stella were up to…

"To get back on track, the King's love interest was named Eridanus. Named after the constellation sign that you and Stella were born under, in fact." added the King.

Noctis rolled his eyes at his father to convey his doubt of the coincidence that lay between the tale and himself.

"King Lucis and Eridanus were both unmarried and single at the time, although they were both expected to be wedded off to arranged marriages to establish political alliances." continued the King.

"As usual. It's still like that now." Noctis pointed out sadly.

"Hey, that isn't always the case. Your mother and I, for instance, married for pure love." reminded the King gently.

"But that was because you guys were the _lucky ones_. I'm just worried that someday you might pair me up with a random princess from Niflheim who I don't like, just for the sake of _politics_…" confessed Noctis coldly.

"Ah… son… I love you too much to do such a thing… has that worry been on your mind lately? Are you finally growing up? Marriage for you is still light years away!" laughed his father.

Noctis bit his lip in silence.

In fact, it _had_ been on his mind quite recently… it was a strange thing because marriage was something he _never_ gave proper thought to…

Until…

"We went off track again Noctis. So, Eridanus loved Lucis back, but the only problem was that Eridanus was sworn to the allegiance of King Tenebrae, and the tragedy started when the two nations had serious military conflict over the crystals. Lucis was now the enemy of Tenebrae, and the two had to be separated. King Lucis had a burden to protect his people from invasions and infiltrations from Tenebrae, while Eridanus was propelled by the King to exploit her love affair with King Lucis; to either assassinate him in bed or to extract information from him." Regis paused dramatically.

"So… did she end up… _killing_ him…?" Noctis hushed blatantly.

"No. As a matter of fact, it turned out much worse than that… the King ended up choosing to pursue his love with Eridanus rather than obligating to his duty to shelter his subjects and kingdom from harm… let's just say, that when it comes to relationships, he wasn't the ideal role model that we should aspire to be… The king, blinded by his passion for his beloved beauty, abandoned his responsibilities as the crowned ruler, and ultimately spilt his greatest secret about the crystal of Lucis. He had let it slip, that his crystal was much more than meets the eye. It wasn't just a magical crystal used for energy sources and protection. It was a special crystal beyond what the other crystals could ever _promise or dream of_. It concealed the power to transport its wielder, to summon and draw weapons out of thin air, it also had the ability to change the eye color of the wielder into bright crimson red… which had other magical implications of its own, that we won't talk about for now... But the King also revealed to Eridanus a deadly secret, one that was best to be kept unsaid for the welfare of not just his own country, but for the peace of the Crystallis world…" said Regis in a serious tone.

"What is it?" Noctis held his breath.

"He had told Eridanus, that his crystal was accessible only to the chosen pair. That he had received a prophecy from the Seeress of the Goddess Etro herself, of fated souls called the L'Cie. These L'Cie would be the ones to fully discover the final stage of the Lucis Crystal's full destructive mystique." The king eyed his son with penetrative privacy.

"And that was a big deal because…?" quizzed Noctis.

"Well… Eridanus, although she loved King Lucis, had still sworn an oath of full allegiance to her Kingdom. She was magically bound by an unbreakable vow to put her Kingdom first priority, at the cost of her and her family's own life. So she unmasked the prophecy on to her masters, about the possibility of dethroning the Lucis Kingdom and its crystal once and for all." hushed Regis.

The King continued "The prophecy spoke of two predestined people, who would come to oppose the other, one _versus_ the other to gain full control to use the last stage of the Lucis crystal's power. You see, this prophecy gave information to the enemies about the right time to strike our kingdom; it gave the enemies the classified information about the perfect time to steal our nation's crystal, in other words, the prophecy foretold when we were most vulnerable to rage war against. The crystal will be stolen and used at a planned era in history when these two L'Cie were born. This pair would have the power to see with the eyes of Etro and thus, would have to power to use the Lucis Crystal to consolidate invincible dominion. Had it not been for the first King to spill the beans to the enemy, other nations wouldn't have eyed our Kingdom with blood thirsting hunger for the past millennium… it gave our enemies something to live for, patience to wait for the time in the future when Lucis and its crystal would finally be conquered by their hands."

"So… that is why Niflheim… and the other countries were raging cold war on us, after all this time…? They were waiting all along for the _right time to strike_?" speculated Noctis.

"Supposedly, yes. That is what the legend tells us… the knowledge of this prophecy was kept confidential to the general public, but it was quietly passed down through the dynasties of Tenebrae and Niflheim… and since then they have kept their eyes and ears open for any sign or news of when these two L'Cie would appear on the face of the planet. If news ever got out that these L'Cie existed, well… let's just say that our Kingdom and our people would be in mortal danger from brutal siege attacks than ever before in history… that is why it is absolutely crucial for you Noctis, as the future throne of our country, to put your country and its people first and foremost deep within your heart… there may come a day son, when we as Kings are all put to the test like King Lucis the First was. There may come a time when we have to put our own personal passions and desires aside, to abide by own given authority and rules to defend our country at all costs… because the truth son, is that we… as kings are cursed fates in disguise… A true king has to sacrifice himself, his honor, his love, his friends and even his life to do what is right. When we are put in a situation to make difficult decisions, we are bound by obligation to act morally and justly over our emotions and desires… So I ask of you Noctis, to tattoo this story and the oath to shield your Kingdom over your personal interests and desires deep within your heart. Do not make the same mistake that our first father made, the mistake that has passed down our inescapable curse…" The King paused again.

"But amidst this woeful tale, the prophecy left us with a glimmer of hope. The prophecy states that _'the act of love by the last king'_ is the only solution that will bring salvation to our nation... Will you promise me son, that whatever happens, you will etch this story in your heart, to defend your country above everything else?" The King held out his pinky finger for his juvenile son to swear his oath; to safeguard Lucis at any circumstance, even if it means sacrificing his own life for the sake of his country.

Noctis obediently intertwined his thin pinky around the weathered and thick finger as he pressed his small thumb to meet the bigger one.

His father smiled proudly with parental gratification as the future King of Lucis swore his own life to embrace his destiny, as the sovereign leader who would do anything to protect his country and its crystal until his last breath.

But Noctis still had so many questions he wanted to ask his father.

Like, what _was_ the last stage of the crystal's power specifically?

And how would the enemy ever find out when these L'Cie would be born?

Has the enemy been plotting for centuries on fulfilling this prophecy to life?

Does his father know all the secrets of the Crystal personally?

But out of the thousands of unknown territories that his head ventured to, Noctis ended up blurting his deepest curiosity.

"Dad… what happened… to…. King Lucis and Eridanus at the end…?" he questioned slowly.

"The King, died an early death out of emotional stress and guilt of what he had done. He had doomed his whole Kingdom for generations to come, so that all his descendants would have to fear in anxiety over the Armageddon day when their Kingdom will be invaded. His guilt and regret over his own actions eventually waned his health to an early grave." Noctis's father gave Noctis a moment to soak in the story before continuing.

"Eridanus, on the other hand also lived to see a tragic end. Although she had betrayed him by passing on her lover's darkest secret to his nemesis, her undying love for him had driven her mad and into exile. The painting, of her sleeping beneath the sun, is a depiction of the last days of her life… she went into an eternal slumber, never to awake, but also never to die. She didn't want to face her lover even in the afterlife; for fear that he would never forgive her, even in death. So that's what she became, neither living nor dead. Legend says that she is still sleeping somewhere, still sleeping in the dark, while she still retains her youthful beauty, waiting for the day to be awoken by the L'Cie themselves. She awaits the day when she can finally redeem her sins and ask for true forgiveness from her lover… The tale does end on a tragic note…" muttered Regis soberly.

"That is pretty depressing…" commented Noctis gloomily.

"Yes… but that part is only a legend. Hence, all we have left of her is this portrait of her sleeping, with her death clock swaying in the wind to her side." told Regis.

"Well then, Noctis, I better get back to sleep… So should you. It is rather late. Not good for a growing boy like you to lose sleep over a dead legend." The CXIII king placed the document files carefully back to where it belonged, as he got up from his stool ready to leave.

"Thanks dad… but I'd rather stay here for just a bit longer… I wanted to have a read about… the legends of the Shadow Hunter Noel… you know, for curiosity's sake." Noctis lied without a single breakdown of nervousness in his throat.

"Ok son... But don't stay up too late." smiled the king.

"Goodnight my boy. I'll see you at breakfast." His father patted his hair one last time, before he left the room quietly.

After Noctis counted down to a full minute in his head, to make sure that his father was out of hearing distance, he crept toward the bookshelf where Stella lay on top of its borders.

"Pst! Pst! He's gone now. You can come down." Noctis whispered up into the ceiling.

"Are you sure…? Ok… hold on…" Stella replied back in a muted voice.

Stella slowly came down the rooftop of the bookshelf, her legs trembling with uncertainty, as she carefully steadied her shaking foot on the shelves below for support.

Noctis spread his arms wide to catch her in case she fell down, his temples pumping just as fast as Stella's own heart beat out of sheer anxiety.

But as Stella stepped her uncontrollable foot on the lower edge, her night slippers slipped away due to the tense vibrations of her immature grip.

Just as Stella was about to fall, she grabbed onto any document files within her reach, out of automatic safety responses impulsing from her body.

Stella fell down from the high bookshelf into Noctis's embrace, but the document files came crashing down on the marble floor with her.

The sound of the thick pages slammed itself loudly against the pavement in shock.

The drums of papers and books hitting the ground floor wafted out into the silent atmosphere.

Noctis hugged Stella tightly in his arms, buried beneath thousands of papers, files and documents in the dark room.

There was no way that anyone could have _not_ heard what just happened.

The shout of papers falling had made its presence too clear and too loudly in the quiet night.

Before the two could figure out how to tidy this racket, they heard the sound of the door opening again.

They paralyzed like stone statues.

There was no time to hide or fix what they had done.

The clock ticked too fast for them to clean up the piles of papers that surrounded them.

Time hurried past them too quickly for them to escape this scene together.

Noctis looked up to see the one person whom he didn't want to see together with Stella in this place.

His father was glaring at him, with an expression he had never seen on his father's face for the past thirteen years of his life.

What he had feared for all night long finally came true.


	14. Chapter 14

Noctis let go of Stella and sprang himself out from the ambush of papers that devoured him.

"Dad… I… I can explain…" Noctis carefully articulated his words.

But his father was not in the mood for showing signs of forgiveness and understanding.

"You don't need to." The King uttered sternly.

"No… it's… not what you think…" explained Noctis desperately.

"Noctis. I don't want to hear any more excuses. I know what I see. Stella, please return to your chamber. Noctis, you follow me to my chamber. Speak no more." The king commanded in a cold and emotionless tone.

The two children followed the king like dead zombies, dreading their awaited doom.

The king locked the secret lair in steady motion after they exited the secret room.

Noctis looked around to confirm that there was no sign of Prompto or Gladiolus in the library.

'They probably fled when the King entered the Grand Library as fast as they could, without being caught… they're good at sneaking past people…' Noctis assured himself on the only positive occurrence of the evening.

The three exited the library and climbed up the spiral staircase in utter silence.

The candle lights that the King brought along with him illuminated the expression of fear and anxiety on the children's faces in the murky castle.

One they reached the floor of Stella's chamber, the King stood still by briefly, to pass his insincere farewell.

"You should have a good night's rest for now, Stella. I would like to talk to you in private tomorrow morning, after breakfast." The King mouthed blandly.

"Yes, your majesty... Good night…" Stella hurriedly shuffled off towards her bedroom and shut the door in haste.

She felt like closing the door off to everyone…

She wanted to never face Noctis or King Regis ever again.

The guilt clawed away at her insides like maggots, as she buried her wet face in the pillow and wailed quietly under the moon-lit window by her bedside.

* * *

Noctis and his father stepped up the endless stairway that led to the King's own chamber.

The stairway encircled around the spacious tunnel of the castle's tower.

The tower was specifically designed for only the royal's residency, to separate their cell away from the others.

The swords and axes that hung above the stoned walls as ornaments was more evident than ever before.

Noctis had never really been properly grounded by the King in his whole life.

Yes, he was what others would consider a typical _naughty boy_ who did silly things with his friends once in a while, but that was as bad as Noctis could ever go.

He was a boyish troublemaker, but he never crossed the boundaries of what was unexpected and unacceptable of him, as the future king of Lucis.

His father knew that his son was above all, a good-natured boy with a kind spirit and a righteous upbringing solicited in his roots.

But tonight's case was a milestone distant from his usual scolding.

He had not only revealed his country's classified secret information storehouse to an outsider, but he had also allowed the foreign stranger to overhear the private conversation between him and his father regarding the secret of the L'Cie.

Noctis knew that the situation could not get any worse than where he found himself now.

They now entered the double door that welcomed them to the King's personal bedchamber.

The large bedroom hall was punctured by an elongated window that span fix feet in width.

Blue silky curtains adorned the black rosy patterns that framed the glamorous window sill, as the moonlight above lit the highest room of the citadel.

His four-poster king sized bed was centered along by the fenestra, so that the downward view of the modern buildings and towers of Lucis were in line with the open scenery.

The king ordered his son to sit on the red leather sofa by his study desk, as he switched on his oriental lamp by his bed stool, to give the dark and gothic room a singular dim light source.

King Regis willfully sat himself on his black office chair by Noctis, so that they sat and faced each other in reverse, eye to eye.

Noctis didn't dare look at his father directly in the eye, out of fear, guilt and honesty that tortured Noctis within.

He wouldn't have been surprised if his father even felt betrayal towards his faithful son.

An act of treachery to uncover the family's integrity to a mere acquaintance; a girl he only met for four days in total.

"Noctis." his father addressed him sharply.

"Look into my eyes when I call you to talk, will you? I am not here to scream at you at the top of my lungs at this hour. Although common sense would tell us both that I have a lurking tendency in my mouth to do so."

Noctis slowly raised his gaze from the red carpet below, to his father's serious face.

By the look of it, Noctis did not feel a sense of direct threat from his father, but he couldn't help but still feel a sense of discomfort… as if he wanted nothing else but to run away from this chamber to escape this situation forever, never to return.

"I'll be straight forward. Do you or do you not realize the severity of what danger you have placed yourself, I mean, what threat you have placed _us_ in, Noctis?" the king questioned his son with a controlled lump in his throat, to add the traces of firy emotions that strived to peek out.

"Yes... I know father… I have wronged you tonight… I know I shouldn't have shown Stella the secret room… nor should I have allowed her to eavesdrop on our conversation, but by then… I felt it was too late for me to tell her to…leave us privately…" Noctis mumbled as his eyes escaped his father's piercing pair of sky blue eyes.

"So you let the fire burn the entire forest, rather than stopping the glint in the first place?" his father spoke in allegories, which was something he only did when he was sensationally sensitized.

"Yes… and I'm… greatly sorry for my actions… it was wrong of me…I… tried to trick you and the boys… to make sure that no one knew about what we were up to tonight." Noctis stammered honestly.

King Regis puffed out an eternal deep breath, as if he was a chronic smoker who was suffering from bronchitis.

"Well boy… I'm content you owe up to your mistakes… and like I said, I didn't call you up to scream at. What I did call you up for was about your relationship with Stella." His father undisclosed his true motives for setting up this midnight lecture.

Noctis gulped as if he felt sudden thirst. "What about it…?"

"I'm asking you what made you took an almost _stranger_ into the secret room." the king demanded with emotionless authority.

"Were you… _tricked_… by her…?" The king emphasized the one word with accentuated pitch.

"No… no, it's not like that dad… I… took her on my own will…" Noctis confessed in shame.

The king paused in silence to pierce his eyeballs into Noctis's own diverting gaze.

"But you are not a reckless boy, Noctis. I've raised you well enough for you to do such a thing out of the blue… Where were your _wits_?" the kind sounded rightfully disappointed as he was displayed the faint snarl building up in his larynx.

"I'm sorry father… I have nothing to justify my actions with…" Noctis murmured into the ground.

"What were you two doing down in the room together?" his father asked grievously.

"We were… trying to unravel the… Somnus Legend that you mentioned to us during our first dinner… we both wanted to know the same topic… further in detail…" Noctis's eyelids dropped further down until he almost looked as if he was about to cry.

"Who was the first person to address on implementing the issue?" the king demanded to know the answer.

"Well… Stella first mentioned it, but it was ultimately, me… I took her to the B4 floor… and then to the secret room in the library… we… wanted to investigate the mystery together… But dad… she promised me she would never mention any of this to a living soul. And Stella isn't the type to deceive or use me to her advantage." Noctis stated with certainty.

"And what makes you certain that she won't…?" challenged the king.

"She's…" Noctis struggled to put his feelings into words.

The problem was that even _he_ didn't have a valid or objective reason to trust her at all. It was more of an intuition, an instinctive, and some queer inclination that propelled him to see something that was translucently _good_ about her character…

Something which he couldn't describe into sentences…

A reason that wouldn't be valid enough to persuade his father.

"Don't tell me, that you are judging her to be honest based on her _looks_… Noctis… I don't mean to sound misogynistic here, but women… can be very dangerous if a man can't see past her outer shell. You never know what they may be hiding beneath her petals… you need no further example… than your own mother." King Regis symphonized his speech with a sorrow melody for the first time that evening.

His father rarely ever mentioned his mother in front of anyone, even in front of his own son.

In fact, Noctis wouldn't have been to surprised if his father tried excessively to block out every memory of her all together.

His past with her lynched his heart with sharp knives at the very reference of her existence.

But his father finally let the avoidance of her slip out on this troubled midnight.

His face dropped lower into the long face of a horse under the blurred yellow lamp light.

"But not all women are like… mother… dad… especially not Stella… I can…feel it… I know it." Noctis argued quietly of what _even he_ recognized as a ridiculous presumption.

"You've only known her for four days lad. You know nothing about her. You can't figure out the true intentions that lurk deep beneath a person even if you've been around them for ten years. Let alone _four days_…" the king pointed out.

"People hide a dark side of themselves to everyone, at every moment of the day. The harsh reality of the ambiguity of mankind is that no one is what they appear to be, Noctis. That is how people are. They hope no one else might notice such private and uncanny thoughts… when you are a king or a prince, you have very few people whom you can truly trust upon. I am glad you have found your friends who have grown up alongside you like your own brothers… and I trust them just as much as you do. But Stella however, is a different matter Noctis. I don't know if this overwhelming… _gravitation_ you feel towards her is based on a mere attraction or fascination of the opposite gender Noctis, as that is very normal for boys your age… but you must remember, believing in the existence of pure motives of a person based on your hunch is a deadly detour that a prince should never make. _She is not one of us. _She is from _another country_. A country that had countless political struggles with ours for centuries. What's more, her whole family is subjugated to the King of Tenebrae. No matter how much she likes and respects your vow, her true allegiance will always align to that of Tenebrae. Not Lucis." The king repeated the obvious statements that Noctis already knew well enough on his own.

The King sighed a long puff. "I know you know all this, but I am trying to stress its importance. Just moments before, I told you about the tales of Eridanus and her tragic lover of how he was deceived by her beauty… whether it be enchantment or true _love_, men are not to easily trust women. Especially when they are from another country." The king lectured his son with the endless conventional wisdom.

"I know dad… and I acknowledge and agree with everything that you have said…" confirmed Noctis solidly.

"Because you never know what the future might hold son. You never know when the sword you so trusted with your life, will stab you back someday… If Stella grows up and somehow finds herself in a situation between the friendship she has with you and the political dilemma with Lucis, she will use the information she retrieved tonight to her nation's favor…" said the King slowly.

"As the forthcoming ruler of this country, you have the responsibility to bandage that possibility at all costs Noctis… therefore I have the right to punish you for your mistakes tonight. You and Stella are to never approach this subject in private or in public, neither orally or textually. In fact, I am grounding you both, until the day when Stella has to leave Lucis after the treaty banquet. As a consequence for your irresponsible actions, you are not to see or talk to Stella on your own ever again. You can only talk to her casually during dinner time. As of tonight, I am ultimately ordering you to distance yourself away from her." the King announced formidably.

"Dad…! But that's…!" Noctis tried to refute, but the subtle anger in the King's voice stopped his plea.

"It seems Noctis that you have inherited the same set of weakness from our first father King Lucis the First, which led to his downfall. I had never known you were the type to be so easily persuaded by… _foreign ladies_… I am very disappointed in you Noctis…" The king arrayed his judgment with straight lips.

"I will not mention this to Stella's parents. They will be blissfully unaware of everything that happened tonight. In their presence, you guys can associate normally, but otherwise, you two are to spend the remaining days until the treaty banquet in _separate_. To make sure that there are no more museum tours or sneaking out at night, I am going to instruct the bodyguards and night guards to make sure that Stella stays well inside the castle during the daytime and well inside her bedroom during her bed hours. This will be final. Now go back to bed. I shall see you for breakfast in the morning." His father spoke clearly and bitterly, as if he was blocking all the chances of Noctis to argue back.

Noctis nodded and bowed to his father to bid his leave in complete obedience.

The young prince closed the double door behind him with lackluster energy.

The dark haired boy had now lost what he had experienced for the first time in his life.

He had just lost the connection… to the first girl that he ever… _liked_.


	15. Chapter 15

Stella could not sleep that night.

No matter how hard she tried to reassure herself that everything was going to be alright, the anxiety and worry in her head drove her madly awake in the dead midnight.

The frustration of not being able to sleep and the dreading of tomorrow morning had drawn dark blue circles under her eyes.

When the day breaking sun urged her to rise up from her bed, she dragged her heavy feet down the stairs to the dining hall for breakfast in a lifeless fashion.

As always, her parents had already finished their breakfast and left long before she arrived.

Noctis, Gladiolus and Ignis were all silently nibbling away at their buttered toasts.

Only Prompto was ignorant enough to welcome the morning with his happy-go-lucky greeting "Good morning Lady Stella!"

"Good morning… Prompto…" Stella replied back with much less enthusiasm.

Stella sat down to her readied French toasts and tomato salad in a gentle etiquette motion.

"Noctis… I'm sorry… about last night…" Stella mildly formulated her sincere apology.

"Don't worry about it." He replied back frankly.

"If anyone needs an apology… it is Gladiolus and Ignis… you're not responsible for what happened last night Stella. It was my fault…" He added.

"What… happened to you two…? Did you guys… escape just in time…?" Stella asked the two boys carefully.

"Oh… men… tell me about it." Gladiolus inclined with a sleazy wine.

"Me and Ignis were searching for the treasure map, but then suddenly someone came in through the main entrance! We got so freaked out by the sound of the newcomer, so we both sneaked out quietly around the corner of the library. We hid behind the edges of the bookshelves as we went along… we had good sneaking techniques… we eventually crept out the back door of the library and just sprinted straight back to our bedrooms. Luckily, Etro was with us the whole time. No one saw us, but boy… I nearly ripped out my lungs out of hypertension." joked Gladiolus.

"I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. My eyes were nearly wrenching out, from all that squinting in the dark. Never in my life had I such ferocious book searching…" moaned Ignis.

"Wow. If Ignis the bookworm had a hard time finding a book, there's no more need to say anything else…" Prompto commented as he slurped his orange juice in joy.

"I'm sorry guys… for being… a jerk… last night… I was very… tense… about getting caught…" Noctis apologized to his friends as he made eye contact with Gladiolus and Ignis correspondingly.

"No worries bro. We understand… After all, we did have Lady Stella with us this time… we wouldn't want to get her involved in our usual grounding routines do we?" Ignis smirked as he easily patted Noctis on the back with a brotherly affection.

"Yeah… we get why you had to be… a bit of a… ah hem… May I put it… a _behemoth_ at us... After all… the last time we got caught during our midnight expedition, we had to help the maids mop the _entire_ second floor of the castle… I thought my shoulders were going to fall off then…" Gladiolus looked up at the heavenly ceiling as he visited his past times of hardened trial.

"Yeah… it's easy enough to imagine what worse suffering we have to endure if we got caught again." Ignis shook his head from side to side in atrocious haziness.

"So what happened to you two? Did you find out who the intruder was?" Gladiolus asked plainly.

It seemed as if the boys were completely unaware of the fact that Noctis and Stella _did_ get caught last night.

"Ah… no… we both escaped like you two… only we took a little detour." Noctis asserted without looking at Stella for supporting reference.

"Oh… thank heavens for that." commented Ignis ignorantly.

They seemed as if they would never guess in a million years of what really went down in last night's mayhem.

After Ignis and Gladiolus left the scene, Noctis and Stella found themselves in the most nerve-racking torment to date; being confronted by the King of Lucis himself at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I decided to make it up to you guys today, whether or not you guys did truly forgive me for being an asshole last night, I still owe it to you two. Let's go to the arcade centre to play bowling. Gladiolus's all time favorite. As for you Ignis, I'll buy you that new monster detection software that you keep raving on about." Noctis told them brightly to change the subject.

"Hey what about _me_? Where's my brotherly gift?" whined Prompto.

"You don't deserve one." chuckled Ignis.

"What?! Ah… forget it. By the way, while we're at it, let's take Stella too!" exclaimed Prompto.

"Yeah! Lady Stella's never seen the downtown of Lucis has she? She'll be flabbergasted at the sight of it!" yelped Gladiolus enthusiastically.

Noctis didn't know how to respond to his two ignorant friends.

How could he break it to them about his embargo with his father last night, without hurting Stella?

"The King has already booked an appointment with Stella for the day. He wishes to see her privately in his chamber after breakfast." Noctis reminded Stella with a diplomatic discourse pattern.

"Oh… yes… I am aware of that. Thanks for the reminder Noctis." She said slowly.

Noctis bit his thin lips in silence.

Ignis's fast paced canniness caught on the shifted atmosphere between the two, while Prompto and Gladiolus's naiveties confused them.

"Well then." Noctis stood up from his chair as he put down his metal fork on the table. "Ignis, do you mind reporting to the King's personal assistant that Stella is now at the dining hall? If you do that, me and the boys will get ready to leave to go to downtown. You can join us in the car park after." Noctis thanked the chef and left the dining hall without a second glance or goodbye to Stella.

Stella was slightly baffled by Noctis's unusual attitude towards her.

Had she angered him last night?

Did he somehow… _hate_ her now…?

For getting him into major trouble from his father…?

If that were the case, Stella thought it was indeed a very plausible reason to be upset with her.

She had not only put him in a tight spot where he was solely blamed for both their actions, but she also brutally damaged the relationship he had with his father…

After the boys left to leave her alone in the dining hall, Stella buried her face in her hands in loathing of herself.

She simply couldn't forgive herself for what she had done…

She never wanted Noctis to get in trouble because of her _curiosity_.

She… _liked_ Noctis… she felt herself drawn towards him… even though they had only know each for other for five days at the most…

The way he trusted her instantly…

It gave a warm buzzing feeling inside her… to know that someone would be willing to place so much conviction in her candor from the moment they met…

She wanted to repay that faith somehow.

She wanted the trust and the new friendship between them to last for a long time…

How quickly that entire wish came tumbling down like the rocks of a volcanic mountain…

Before Stella could wail in hatred of herself any further, one of the King's personal secretary dressed in a black tuxedo came into the dining hall.

"Lady Stella. The king wished for you to see him at his chamber personally." The black suit interrupted her in the midst of her humiliating sobbing.

"Oh yes… I'm coming." Stella wiped her half-shed tear with her napkin to follow the tall black suit out of the dining hall.

"Sir Ignis came to remind me that you just woke up. The king has asked of me to escort you to his bed chamber after you finished your meal." The visor asserted cordially.

"Oh yes… thank you for your escort." Replied Stella as the two of them climbed the endless spiral of stairs into the highest floor of the castle.

Stella's organs churned up and down with feverish restlessness as the visor knocked on the wooden double door situated at the very end of the corridor.

"Sire. The lady is here at your command." The secretary spoke into the gap of the door with respectful interruption.

"Come on in." the King ordered with honorable authority.

The king's assistant opened the door in for Stella to enter, only to shut it again for him to leave Stella alone with the king in seclusion.

Stella failed to appreciate the sparkling jewels and crystals of the chandelier above the ceiling that glistened in the morning sunlight.

Had this invitation not been for a serious purpose, she would have been gobsmacked at the deluxe of the king's private bed chamber.

Even his bed sheets were a different quality to the one in her own bedroom.

They were a marvelous black masterpiece, sheets embroidered and stitched with the Lucis emblem on its surface in the finest intricate detail humanly possible.

"Stella. Please sit down." The king gestured his right hand over to a red sofa by his study desk.

"Thank you Lord Regis." She sat down with utmost courtesy and caution.

"Since I have a tight schedule today Stella, I have to make this short and quick. What I called you up for was not to tell you off. But I am still here to request something that you may not relish upon." The king started his conversation with a gentle but rigid tone.

"I will ask of you two things. Is that ok with you?" the king instituted respectfully.

"Of course Lord Regis. Anything you say, my lord. You are the king after all… I have every right to submit to your requests." The genteel girl perorated.

"Thank you Stella. Well then, let's begin. As you know, I have asked similar solicitations of Noctis last night. Although you guys are yet young to know the world, the territory you two treaded upon last night was… not a laughing matter that we could forget and forgive so easily. As you well know Stella, you are not a Lucis citizen. You were neither born in Lucis, nor do you have the obligation to be loyal to this country. As the aristocracy of Tenebrae, you hold every right to uphold your country's interests well over ours in every circumstance. That is why, when we find ourselves in an ambivalent situation like last night, we are all faced with the uncomfortable but undeniable reality of racial distinction and segregation that separates you from me." The lord let out the cold hard truth to the young girl.

"Therefore Stella… the first thing I must ask of you is the very same beseech I ordered Noctis last night. I understand that you two have become like two peas in a pod… but on top of that, you two seem to have a knack for trampling on shaky grounds together… despite the fact that you two barely know each other… As shown by what you guys have done last night, I can no longer allow you to mingle together after what Noctis undisclosed to you about our nation's rather… _private_ matters." The ruler of Lucis mouthed civilly as he stared into the blonde girl's blue eyes.

"I understand King Regis… And I will fully oblige by your request." Stella obeyed diplomatically.

She was not given a choice of yes or no in this situation.

No matter how much she disliked this requisition, the option to petition against the orders of the King of Lucis was out of question.

"Secondly… I must inquire Stella… what was the _real_ intention of divulging deep into the… Somnus Legend? Was it… all based on your _personal_ curiosity…?" the leader of Lucis eyed Stella to penetrate deeper into her soul.

This was a double question.

Even the thirteen year old could comprehend what the king was really asking beneath the euphemistic question.

"Yes your majesty. I can solemnly swear on my family's honor that it was all driven by my own interests of the legend. No one else is to blame." Stella asserted with the full confidence of certainty that venerated from within her honest moral values.

The lord studied Stella carefully again for what seemed over thirty seconds.

He was trying to decipher her out.

Calculating and measuring her tone, her eyes, her gesture and any other signs that may give away the possibility of deception and dishonesty that may lie beneath the innocent round eyes of the child.

"Very well then. That'll be all Stella. You can go back to your chamber. I would like to remind you… that if you ever had the urge to revisit the secret room in the library, I am sorry to inform that it is locked. I locked the key away for good after what happened last night. As for the remainder of your stay at Lucis, I apologize in repetition, that I have advised the guards of the castle… to keep an eye on you more tentatively… So that you are safe and sound within these walls during your accommodation." The king announced another round of his discreet euphemism.

It was the judicious way of telling her that until she left Lucis, she would be locked away in the fortress for good, just like the princesses in the fairy tales.

The irony was that for Stella, there would be no prince charming to rescue her out of her jailed cage.

_Her_ prince had no power of his own to break the rules…

"Oh and another thing." The king stopped in his tracks to leave the room as if he had remembered a trivial piece of information.

"When you heard the story of Eridanus last night… what did you think _you_ would do, if you were in Eridanus's shoes?" the king asked yet another symbolic puzzle.

Stella's wits saw right through the king's question.

When she finally gave it thought, the similarities that Eridanus shared with Stella was… staggering, to say the very least.

They were both aristocrats from Tenebrae.

They both were closely acquainted with the royal bloodline of Lucis.

And lastly, they both knew Lucis's safeguarded secret… one that was trusted to them by the prince himself…

What would she do, if one day, she had to use the knowledge of the L'Cie's prophecy to save her kingdom?

Where would _her_ true dedication lie?

Stella watched her whole life flashback rapidly before her eyes.

The images of being cuddled by her parents with love, the fresh scent of the fields of Tenebrae, her friends back at home, the mass of crowds that waved to her and her family during national march ceremonies…

She loved her country.

As from the moment she was old enough to make judgments, she knew that she was born to live her life for the welfare of her state.

The patriotic pride of her nation always flared with the passion of the lion king of the jungle.

"I would do the same thing as she did, my lord. I would put my country first, even if it meant losing my own happiness." Stella declared with her head tilted high with loyalty towards her own ethnicity.

The king smiled "Of course you would. That is what we would and should all do. Because there is nothing wrong about defending your country above all… I bid my leave now Stella. I hope you will enjoy the rest of your dwelling at Lucis. You are free to use all the facilities in the castle to your heart's content, if it be in the daylight. Goodbye Stella." Lord Regis left with his brisk farewell and shut the double door vigilantly.

Stella counted a minute in her head before she followed his suit.

When she shut the double door behind her, she looked up to greet the warm sunshine that flowed into the long corridor.

A bothering question still lingered on the back of her mind like stubborn wild coarse weeds.

Stella knew not what _love _really was yet.

She was too young to know how intoxicating love could be…

How it was bound to musk out all other priorities other than one's own selfish desires to be with their lover against all other odds and obstacles…

But during the past few days, she felt that her heart head mimicked the faint outlines of what so many adults hung their lives over…

The anticipations that aroused her blood as she waited for the moment to see someone…

The drum beat of her heart speeding past her normal pulse beat when someone held her hand…

When her eyes found the eyes of that someone, it seemed as if they were solely designed to meet her own, she felt the world divided and spinning dazzling around her as if she was the centre of the universe…

When she thought of the person who could deliver about all those emotional revelations to her soul, she could no longer deny the intense dynamism of how love could potentially backlash against one's logical judgment…

Love could filter her reason, her morals and her values for the sake of eternal longing and destructive lust and desire…

Stella then questioned something she could not answer with so much certainty as before.

When the time came for this mimicry in Stella's small heart to fully blossom into what adults labeled as "love", would she _really_ choose her country over 'love'?


	16. Chapter 16

The next few days were like being stuck in a prison cell.

Well… a flashy and vast prison cell.

Stella wandered in and out about between her own chamber and the Grand Library below.

After the first few days of drowning herself in the Grand Library's fiction section during the daytime, she eventually got rather bored with the endless reading.

She ventured out to explore the castle from bottom up to kill time during the day light.

However, within the space of three days, she had entered or peered inside nearly every available room there was to explore.

Most of the bedrooms were either private bedrooms or big meeting and event halls that were opened specifically for ceremonial purposes only.

But she dared not peep inside any of the private bedrooms, nor could she even if she wanted to.

Most of them were locked when the inhabitants were absent.

The boys would disappear after breakfast to their usual hunting missions for either combat training or for pure recreational hunting.

They would only return after the dawn broke on the surface of the sky.

The only place that Stella met Noctis was during breakfast and dinner.

But very few words were exchanged during those snippets of abbreviated encounters between them.

During breakfast, Noctis would eat his meal in a muffled attitude, while the rest of the boys filled the silence with their raised voices.

His rather cool persona that he comfortably revealed in her presence before the incident, had diminished dramatically.

In fact, the only words Noctis _did_ exchange with Stella in the morning were; "Good morning." and "I'll see you later at dinner" or something along those lines.

At dinner, Noctis was just as silent and sensible as he was during breakfast.

He avoided butting into the adults' conversations altogether.

The only thing that did happen between the two was occasional instances during dinner when Noctis's eyes met Stella's directly opposite the dinner table from where she always sat.

Noctis would then shyly mitigate his glance straight towards his food casually.

* * *

The days flowed past in Stella's memory as repetitively as the clock hand that turned endlessly clockwise towards infinity.

Time passed by not with rapid haste, but also not with paused sluggishness.

The calendar on Stella's diary marked that the treaty banquet was now only a day away.

The blonde girl was neither dancing with upbeat zeal or total cringing of the whole vexed fiesta vibe of the long-awaited international event.

The previous expectations she had of the grand treaty banquet, had fled from her mind on the day when she and Noctis were informed of the king's orders to dissociate from each other.

Stella slumped herself on her cushioned bed, ready to sleep the day away again until dinner time.

Then, a sudden knock of strong knuckles thumped against the wooden door.

"Come in…" Stella mumbled into her pillow, expecting that it was perhaps nanny who wanted to take her daily laundry away from her room.

A pair of black boots echoed the marble floor with compelling rhythm as Stella looked up from her white pillow in surprise at her unexpected guest.

A man in his thirties with short brown cropped hair shaved to bare his headline with masculine jaws, looked down at Stella with a deadpan expression.

His narrow blue eyes teamed with strength and authority while his stylish black blazer hung above his toned broad shoulders.

"Lady Stella. My name is Cor Leonis. I have come to deliver a letter from Sir Noctis." Cor, one of Lucis's most tenacious guards handed Stella a white envelope.

"Oh… Thank you Sir Leonis. I've heard about you from Noctis himself… though… sir, I cannot help but inquire what business you personally have here sir…? Aren't you… very preoccupied with security matters regarding tomorrow's banquet party?" Stella sat up straight from her bed, her tiredness leaving her body as fast as a bullet shot from a gun.

"Well Lady Stella that is what I am _supposed_ to be preoccupied with. However, the prince… went a long way to persuade me postpone my own duties… in favor to deliver this _important_ parcel…" Cor politely narrated his double agency; of having to obey the two conflicting commissions to serve both the present and future king of Lucis simultaneously.

This meant that although Cor was bound to obey King Regis, he was also obligated to fufil orders from the young prince himself.

Regardless of how ridiculous it was for the top security warrior of Lucis to deliver letters to a random girl as if he were come mail delivery service man, he still kept to his word.

"Well thank you regardless, Sir Leonis. I appreciate that you have come all the way out to deliver this for me. I wish you good luck with the security matters for tomorrow's event." Stella grinned nicely at the rugged buff man.

"It is my duty, Lady Stella. Well, I must get going then. I shall see you tomorrow at the event." Cor left with a military bow that was fixated directly towards her.

When Cor shut the door behind him, Stella urgently ripped open her letter, tearing away at the envelope as quick as a fly.

She unfolded the crumple folded letter to read the following words:

* * *

_Dear Stella._

_I hope you are doing ok by yourself in the castle._

_You must be really bored with no one to talk to or play with._

_I am writing this letter for Cor to deliver it to you secretly._

_There is no one else I can trust on who can breach the King's orders to follow mine._

_Although there are many things I want to say, I wanted to tell you a few things privately though this letter._

_Tomorrow, all of Lucis's Tenebrae's and Niflheim's top politicians and royal families will be attending the party._

_The party will take place in the Grand Park out in the wild lands, which will be closed off to the public for the whole day._

_The park lies way beyond the city, in the middle of nowhere…_

_It is located about twenty kilometers away from the metropolis, near the great lake on the edge of Lucis's borders._

_As dad will be busy throughout the whole day, we have a chance to do something fun, outside of his watchful eye._

_Me and the boys are planning to bring our Plan B costumes, for when we can escape the party scene to explore the fields._

_If you would like to join us, bring your own share of Plan B outfit along with you: something that is comfortable and easy to run about in._

_I will see you tomorrow morning. _

_P.S. we are allowed to fraternize normally together tomorrow, because dad reckons we will behave sensibly around the aristocrats. __I'm looking forward to talk properly with you again._

* * *

The messy handwriting was scribbled roughly in rapid fashion.

It was clearly evident from the crossed out sentences and tacky scribbles of ink pen that this was not written on Noctis's finest hour.

'_He probably wrote this is a minute or something… so that no one noticed that he was writing it…'_ Stella guessed at the only plausible reason behind the lack of effort put into Noctis's letter.

As soon as she finished reading the letter for the second time, Stella instantly opened her cupboard to plan her Plan B costume.

She decided upon her white spaghetti strapped dress with white running sneakers to match.

She stuffed them away in her leather bag to take with her tomorrow morning.

When dinner time came, the king and Noctis sat themselves down to a plate of fancy cream pasta sprinkled in mouth-watering cheese.

Stella stirred away at her own plate with disinterest.

Her appetite has been of late, very meager.

She blamed it entirely on the weeks of endless day time napping and having nothing else better to occupy her time with.

"So Stella, are you looking forward to the Treaty Banquet tomorrow?" the king asked as he dipped his baguette into his cream soup.

"Yes your majesty. We came all the way to Lucis to attend it, so we've eagerly been anticipating for it all this time." smiled Stella.

"Ah… yes… I thought you might like to know that as we are preparing the event outside, we will have extra security around our perimeters. There'll be more guards than the usual indoor events. Also, the helicopters will be filming the Treaty Banquet live from the air, so don't be too surprised with the occasional cameras flying by." reminded lord Regis.

"We are taking more attention with security than usual. Not because of Niflheim's attendance per se, but because… we have been notified quite recently about a rather disturbing new piece of information…" the king expressed his concern with wrinkles creasing on his forehead.

"May I incline to inquire my lord… what exactly is this new information?" the duke expressed in submissive courtesy.

"Well… our security captain Cor Leonis, has informed us of recent… _Eidolons_… or summons… if you call it differently… that have been sighted near the same allocated location of where our treaty is reserved to take place… long story short, Cor sighted the Eidolon Bahamut being summoned during four A.M. just three days ago near a lake where the party will be held… we don't know who is behind this summoning or why or how one plans to use it to their advantage during the party… all we know is that if one were to summon an eidolon in the middle of our treaty banquet, we would all be under serious threat... And we can't let that happen, at all costs." The leader of Lucis nodded his head in determination as he narrated his latest concern.

"Then why don't we just change the entire designated location of the event father? Then, there won't be any threat of summons appearing randomly during our party…" Noctis butted in assertively.

"Son… You are forgetting that we have already reserved and prepared the party settings in the fields for weeks by now… all the guests have already been notified in their invitations of where the party is set. It will just end up confusing them if we change the site abruptly three days ahead of the party. Plus, even if we do change the place, as this event is broadcasted publically, the summoner will no doubt track us down and follow wherever the party goes." The king spoke logically to his son to make him see his sense.

"Oh…" Noctis mumbled in embarrassment as he realized his folly.

The rest of dinner shifted back to the old political talk as Noctis and Stella only caught fragments of the adults conversations of occasional words such as 'Idola Eldercapt' and 'Niflheim'.

After dinner was over, Stella headed back towards her own chamber to charge into an early bed.

Noctis was casually trailing behind her, with understated mortification embedded into his unconfident strides.

"Thank you for the letter Noctis… I'm glad that you notified me beforehand about your plans with the boys. I am glad to join you guys. And yes, I was rather bored doing nothing on my own… so your letter really lifted me up!" Stella chimed at Noctis.

"Oh… in that case… I'm glad too. I'll see you tomorrow morning then Stella… Good night… oh, and by the way, I had to scribble the letter as quick as I could in the car, as I'm kind of being spied on by one of father's secretaries… you know, so I don't call you on my cell phone or something…" Noctis explained the reason behind his cluttered longhand scrawls.

"Oh… don't worry about it. I kind of guessed something along those lines… anyway, good night Noctis! Have sweet dreams!" Stella waved at Noctis in adieu.

'Oops… that last line was a bit _too cheesy_' Stella told herself in her head, and thanked Etro that there were no lights above to reveal the blushing in her cheeks.

"You too. Sweet dreams." Noctis mumbled back quietly, as he watched the back of Stella's hair running off into the dark.

After a calming dunk in the lavender bubble bath, Stella stumbled onto her white linen sheets filled with bird feathers.

The exquisite warmth of the duvets welcomed Stella into her new world of hypnotized dreams.

* * *

That night, Stella entered one of the longest and most vivid dreams of her life.

In this world, Stella was much older.

She now had the fully developed curved silhouette and tender figure of a mature woman.

She was wearing black high-heel boots, teamed with a short frilly black skirt tied in gothic fashion, which accentuated her slim waist.

A white bolero jacket framed around her slender shoulders.

She was standing still waiting in an empty highway.

The light posts gave birth to light up the street robbed of cars.

The full moon broadened its presence among the blue night as silence awaited patiently beside Stella.

She was waiting for someone.

But she didn't know who she was expecting.

Her heart was beating with anticipation.

An unfamiliar elation rose about Stella's whole being... an emotion that young Stella predicted out as yearning, an undying desire to be with someone, a longing of the heart to see someone; to hold them and to embrace them in her arms.

A feeling she could not quite understand at her juvenile age.

The noise of footsteps echoing from the soles of the robust and firm soles of boots, neared within her hearing range.

She turned around to see who was approaching her slowly in this empty highway street.

When she turned around, her heart sank with her world.

She knew that this man was the person whom she had waited for all on her own.

This man was the one whom she felt the pain of tragic sensation to impose her erotic and emotional yearning upon; an aching crave of the heart to see, touch and hug him in her arms.

This was the man whom she _loved_.

His dark bluish hair was well-grown; long spikes of hair jostling in non linear directions, to the flowing melody of the swaying midnight wind.

His solid and manly features were stabilized by a sturdy and tall bridged nose, with sharp edgy narrow sky blue eyes full of power and force.

He approached her carefully in a battle stance.

His sword appeared out of thin air from the light blue, circular and divine florescence behind him.

The round magical ocean colored light behind him was patterned with symmetrical artistry, a unwordly occurence that could only be justified by the existence of a godly power.

The fit and lanky man was approaching her with a giant silver falchion sword with a black robust engine built to its hilt.

But even as Stella sensed unavoidable threat and danger from this man, she was not yet ready to fight this man.

This was the man she could not face to hurt.

She felt that she could not conjure up an aggressive rage that never existed from the start to counter against this man's advance.

Even if her own life was on the brink of dying, she could not bear to let this man drop his red blood at the pierce of her own rapier knife.

She stood still, paralyzed and unable to make a choice to move even an inch of her muscles.

The man held up his sword and started charging towards Stella, his sharp menacing falchion at the ready to strike her in a single final blow to her end.

The man's thick vocals grunted as he heaved his falchion up above his head to slash.

Before her last breath, Stella managed to look one last close look at this man.

Although his sky blue eyes were sharpened with the natural growth towards adulthood, she finally realized whose eyes this belonged to.

It only reminded her of one person.

It was Noctis.


	17. Chapter 17

"Hey! Wait! Don't leave without me!" Prompto wailed as he stretched his arms out in desperate need towards the black limousine in the car park.

The King and the Duke and Duchess Fleuret had already left the castle in a separate limousine ahead of the children.

Noctis, Stella and the others were sitting with their arms folded, waiting patiently for the clumsy blonde boy to catch his breath.

"Typical. Late as usual." Ignis commented in an emotionless stance.

Prompto panted "Ah... early mornings... are what I do worst..."

After the puckish blonde buckled his seat belt, the driver at the front started the car engine to start the long journey that lay ahead.

The Treaty Banquet was miles away from their departure.

Endless plains of green lush wild lands stretched on glimpse after glimpse beneath the misty, dull morning sky.

Stella nodded her head to bump gently against the glass window as she dozed off during the car ride.

* * *

"We're here Sire." The driver stepped on the brakes as the car slowly rolled onto the crowded car park that housed hundreds of white and black long limousines and bullet proof vehicles side by side.

Stella slowly opened her eye lids wide to discover the bustling vibe of the party scene coming to life before her sleepy eyes.

Politicians, aristocrats, royal families and national elites dressed in their most fancy gowns and suits bustled around the green meadow.

The event planners had really nailed their job.

White sail cloth Sperry tents domed the tens of tables and seats like a deluxe outdoor circus tent.

The high tents sheltered the hazy sun that barely fuzzed through the cloudy upper atmosphere.

It wasn't exactly the brightest and sunniest day of the year.

But the dim daylight failed to depress the uplifted mood of the guests of the celebration.

Noctis and his boys were all dressed in their formal suits while Stella had her semi casual and pseudo formal white spaghetti strap dress on.

She decided to wear her Plan B outfit to the party rather than bringing one.

She figured that it looked adequately formal enough to pass through the entrance, without being subjugated by her parents to wear something dressier.

White satin cloths over cloaked the outdoor tables, that were evenly stationed under the poles that upheld the tent shelter above in the ceiling.

Floral bouquets of white lilies and green ivory leaves intertwined gracefully around the tall white classical poles.

A long buffet table full of sumptuous delicate meals lay neatly across on the side of the tent.

The air hung with elegant melodies of violin strings welcoming the guests into the garden foyer of the international Treaty Banquet.

High class women dressed in high heels and chic fashionable sun hats opulently upheld their cocktail glasses with mannered smiles.

The vast green lawn of the vacant Grand Park was freshly mown while the fuming roses of yellow and red enamored the serenity garden.

Stella and the boys strolled naturally into the midst of crowds that held their mouths open in adoration.

As always, they quickly became the centre of attention of the party scene.

Fully grown adults bowed down low, in whole courtesy to the arrival of the young prince.

Some even went as far as to take off their hats in full respect to greet the heir to the throne of Lucis with their exaggerating potrayal of utmost respect.

Noctis and the group sat themselves around at a readied table next to a table by the King, who was seated with the King and Queen of Tenebrae.

The circular tables with prepared silver plates, utensils and wine glasses were now filled with lovely ladies and gentlemen.

Their gloved hands were resting sensibly on their laps as they eagerly waited for the Banquet Lunch to start.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. In a few moments, we will welcome King Regis CXIII of the Lucis Kingdom onto the stage for his opening speech." The Diplomat of Lucis spoke clearly into the microphone to urge people to take their reservation seat among the tables.

Energetic bursts of clapping vibrated around the tent as King Regis dressed in his black suit and bow tie, strode confidently on to the grand stage that overlooked the tens of tables.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen of Lucis, Tenebrae and Niflheim. We are proud to present that this year, the Lucis kingdom is honored to host the Treaty Banquet Party between Lucis and Tenebrae to commemorate the beginning of the memorial pact of peaceful alliance between our nations. For many decades, the political tension between our countries has given birth to numerous bureaucratic cold wars and hostile alerts to our citizens. But as of today, we all hope upon the sacred name of the Goddess Etro, that a new era of diplomatic peace and continuous treaty will follow. Without much further ado, I King Regis the CXIII would like to officially announce the opening of the Treaty Banquet." The King snipped his silver scissors to mark the Grand Opening of the ceremonial ribbon cutting.

The officials and guests all clapped in admiration as the King bowed down to solicit the beginning of the long-awaited Treaty Banquet.

Professional chefs and waitresses served the exquisitely readied banquet platters onto Stella's table.

Gladiolus and Prompto dug into their meaty dishes with their usual lively appetites while Noctis, Ignis and Stella elegantly cut into their meals with their knives and forks.

"So what's our plan after lunch boss? When are we _ahem_… divulging out of the main party scene?" Gladiolus asked through his full mouth.

"Well… I was thinking about getting out of this tight tuxedo after lunch… the dance is scheduled to take place an hour after lunch… That's when all the adults are busy establishing preplanned marriage arrangements by trying to cherry pick their partner on the dance floor. The music is usually boring so it's no place for me." Noctis gloomily stated.

"Right on. We'll just play sensible until then. Give us a text during the dance so we can sneak out unseen." Prompto added his enthusiasm onto the table.

Lunch time was like a long snake.

It was dragging on the extension of endless muffle of plates clattering, and of adults laughing and chatting away in their cheery socialite modes.

The children were eager for lunch time to quickly finish, but the adults weren't so keen to do so.

Noctis had nearly dozed off in boredom is his white chair, when the waitresses woke him up, as they finally started to clean up after the leftovers and the empty plates on the abandoned empty dining tables.

Although the foggy sky was clouded in smoky lumps of gas smoke, the sky didn't produce any rain.

On the way towards the men's bathroom, Noctis spotted Idola Eldercapt, the leader of Niflheim.

He was an old man with silver grey hair slicked back, his blue eyes sharpened in age and focused attention.

In front of the entrance of the men's toilets, Idola Eldercapt gave a short nod of approval to one of his secretaries and whispered something into the ear of another one of his bodyguards.

Noctis entered the bathroom entrance all the while ignoring the old man as if he had never seen him.

He quickly diverted his attention elsewhere.

Idola didn't seem like the most friendliest person to talk to, even on a cheery day as today.

Noctis entered the toilet cubicle to change into his Plan B attire.

He brought along his usual black sneakers and cropped black shorts and hooded jacket.

The prince didn't want to make a scene with a wacky costume in the midst of such a formal event.

Noctis planned to wait out the dance unnoticed and perhaps sneak out with the boys during the dance when everyone was busy waltzing to the music.

But his plans were shattered to find that he was the only one who dressed out of his tuxedo suit.

The boys seemed to have changed their minds about sneaking out of the party scene.

Instead, they were more interested in looking for dance partners.

The live orchestra enumerated slow tranquil flows of violin cello strings that the guests waltzed about in romantic couplets.

The spacious dance floor was ladden with outstanding lush floral decorations and doric classical columned pillars that set the perimeter.

Golden lights of yellow and blue lit around the grecian styled pillar poles that outlined the tiled dance floor.

Even though it was only four P.M, the electric lights were turned on to dramatically boost the romantic atmosphere.

Prompto the playboy had already asked a random girl around his height for a samba on the dance floor, while Gladiolus strolled around uncomfortably and aimlessly about the concrete pavement, desperately looking for an easy target to ask out.

Ignis, Noctis and Stella were slumped deep into their seats on the sidelines, their feet rooted onto the floor as if they never knew what a 'dance' was.

Obviously, it wasn't that any of them knew how to dance.

In fact, they were more than capable of working some of the most complex dance routines and steps of various musical genres; from couple waltzes to vibrant jazz themes, the royals were well-educated from the moment they could walk on the basics and art of formal ball dancing.

When the violin symphony deceased to an ending chorus, a boy band switched their roles with the orchestra on the front stage.

The tall musicians consisted of a vocal, two guitarists, a pianist and a drummer.

They band was not a rock band, but they were still a contemporary music group from the way they wore their outfit and the how they held their instruments.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. We are the band 'Trading Yesterday'. We are honored to perform live at this Treaty Banquet from a request from the King himself. We have come to dedicate our songs to Prince Noctis. It was a great glory for us to hear that he is a fan of our music. We hope you enjoy our first song _'Shattered'_." The vocal singer spoke softly into the microphone as the pianist started playing the soft intro keys of their single.

Noctis instantly sprang out of his seat in unexpected joy "It's my favorite band! Dad actually listened to my request this time!"

"Come on Stella. We better see them up close!" Noctis pulled Stella away from her chair to take her to the middle of the dance floor to peer at his beloved idols from a closer distance.

The two were now near the large speakers of the stage that streamed the band's melodramatic tunes.

The emotional song vibrated across the stage to their eardrums as their hearts started beating in sensational resonance to the powerful music.

"_And I've lost who I am, and I can't understand.  
Why my heart is so broken, rejecting your love without, love gone wrong, lifeless words carry on.  
But I know, all I know, is that the end's beginning.  
Who I am from the start, take me home to my heart ~"_

The moving lyrics and dramatic melody stroke the small courage in Noctis's heart to overflow until he saw his own hand outstretched towards Stella beyond his understanding.

"Will you… dance with me…?" Stella could only trace the movement of Noctis's lips mouthing such words among the high theatrical volume.

She handed her hand over to his without any reply, the blooded impulse driving her body to become entangled in one with his.

They harmonically formed an embrace, her arms into his.

The two were flowing in a slow motioned waltz to every climactic tempo and guitar key.

The poetic lyrics swayed their feet in conformity.

It was if their bodies knew where to step, where to flow, where to touch in unity with the thematic musical notes that hovered around their souls.

"_Let me go and I will run, I will not be silent.  
All this time spent in vain, wasted years, wasted gain.  
All is lost, hope remains, and this war's not over.  
There's a light, there's the sun, taking all shattered ones.  
To the place we belong, and his love will conquer all."_

The repeating chorus glued their gaze upon each other.

Only their eyelids blinked to the timing of the flowing music.

In that moment, Stella felt that time had stopped around her surroundings.

Noctis's ocean blue eyes sprouted into an overflowing emotion, as the background melody directly pumped Stella's heart faster and faster.

She could feel his left hand holding her slim waist, the warmth of his chest breathing onto her own.

The young girl wished that the dramatic chorus of this song along with this moment would extend into boundless eternity.

She desired that Noctis would never let go of her, never let go of this moment in time that took her breath away into the heavens.

But as with everything that entailed time and space…

An ending waited to separate them.

It wasn't the dying music that was closing to the bridge that rectified the epilogue of their waltz.

Another force disrupted their peaceful union.

Women in the foreground screamed in deafening ear-piercing shrieks out of unbelievable terror.

Suddenly, people from all around their three hundred and sixty degree view were running for their lives in all directions.

Tables, chairs and plates were flipped in adverse disorder.

Chaos and panic exploded the atmosphere as the body guards readied their weapons.

Old men were stumbling and stepping on top of one another while the children started crying for their mothers in horror.

Noctis looked up in the sky to see what the racket was all about.

A giant blackish dragon figure, with claws and beaks as sharp as brutal swords soared above the misty sky.

His titanic dark blue wings spanned in brooding monstrous threat, like eagle wings that were enlarged into a tenfold size.

He roared an aggressive and bloody roar that pierced every human ear down below.

The Eidolon Bahamut had been summoned.


	18. Chapter 18

Noctis pulled Stella close by his side.

His intimate hand determined to never let go of her.

In this devastating mess of crazy people running and crying for their lives, the two ducked and dashed through the available gaps between the turmoil mobs of adults.

The black suited body guards of Lucis were firing at Bahamut by casting magic spells of thunder, fire and blizzard into the air.

Cor Leonis, the captain of the military personnel of Lucis, was fiercely slashing his katana blade at the newly arrived monsters that posed conflicting danger on the party scene.

"Greetings… uninvited guests." Cor smirked at the giant Behemoth who crawled towards him on all fours in a threatening lure.

The Behemoth's jaws were thirsting for human blood, its sharp teeth and yellow slits baring itself to strike Cor.

Cor flew through the air like a high jump athlete and climbed onto the Behemoth's monstrous shoulders.

He pierced his long blade at the back muscle of the monster's throat.

The dying cry of the Behemoth impaled the ears of hundreds as the heavy ton of its body came crashing down the grassy plains in an apocalyptic momentum.

Cor's recruitment were busily reoccupying themselves in full battle mode; their metal swords and magic spells were flying across the air to eradicate monsters from all directions.

Noctis violently flipped his head side to side, struggling to search for his friends and his father in this ballistic hysteria.

But they were nowhere to be seen.

Only random guests, who were still shouting and running in frenzy, filled his wide shot view.

Then, a _second_ Eidolon entered into his eye sight.

Valefor, the blazing red eagle summon was flying straight towards where he stood in the midst of the disarray group in out roar.

Valefor was charging at them, as if it was summoned for the sole purpose of assasinating the prince.

"Run!" Noctis led Stella to turn away from the flying beast as they started running for their lives into the grassy plains.

Their legs speeded out of the party scene as they left the borders of the reserved area of the Grand Park.

They were now running in isolation into the wild area, the land where all that lay ahead of them was unattained grass, mud and trees.

The sky above them had gone two shades darker than it had been before.

The smoggy bland bluish sky seemed as if it would cry rain drop tears any moment.

The humid air was now misty, microscopic hydro vapor condensed the atmosphere so that Stella and Noctis's visions were blurred to only glimpse at the unknown lands that lay ahead of them.

"I can't see anything!" panted Noctis as he pondered around in alarmed confusion at the misty meadow.

It was then that Stella realized that this scene was all too familiar to be a mere coincidence.

This was a déjà vu.

She had seen this in her dreams.

She had been here with a boy in this very place, in this cloudy blue pastel evening on the tall wild grassy field.

That boy she was holding, the boy in black sneakers that she was leading, was Noctis.

"Follow me." Stella grabbed Noctis's hand to run towards the path that she had trodden on in her dreams.

It wasn't that she knew where to go.

All that she acted upon, was her instinctive impulse that guided her hasty steps to take Noctis to wherever that promised safety, just like she had done in her dreams.

Her white skirt and blonde hair flowed in the cold evening wind.

The sunlight was now leaving the plains as darkness and doom crept closer to them inch by inch.

Her senseless direction had no navigation or purpose, only the trickling sweat between the palms of Noctis and Stella's hand glued them together in meaning.

But like in her dreams, the same feeling, the same desire to lead Noctis unharmed into a safe territory drove her legs forward faster.

Her heart beat just as loudly as the sound of their feet on the pasture.

Their sneakers were brushing against the razor grass swaying gently in motion with the cool breezy wind.

Just as they were running for their lives into the middle of nowhere, the demeaning shriek of Valefor's roar sent needles into the children's ear.

Valefor was chasing after them, its speed quicker than racing motor cars of any sort.

There was no hope of the children outrunning the flying Eidolon.

A catastrophic prophecy annihilated their downfall.

Cataclysm doomed for them to be caught, doomed to be imprisoned like a bird-cage on this windy wild weather land.

They were doomed to die.

But Stella didn't give up hope.

Epic drum rolls burst open in their disaster minds.

The climax of their lives urged them to never give up.

They still sprinted to survive, each panting breath fighting for the glint of hope that every breath will not be their last.

It was then that Stella felt Noctis letting go of her hand abruptly.

He had stopped running for some reason.

Stella turned around to see the colossal Valefor stopping in front of their very eyes.

Noctis held up his hand high up in the air ready to defend Stella.

The heir to the throne of Lucis shot thunder spells at the beast in desperate survival tactics.

But the useless bolts of lightning only managed to tickle the winged beast.

His spells were simply too weak to inflict any major damage.

The blackish silver-haired boy was no match for the great Eidolon Valefor.

But the young prince never gave up.

He continually fired magic spells towards Valefor, a mixture of fire, thunder and ice rummaging itself onto every muscle of Valefor's hulking body.

Stella frantically joined in even though she realized that there was no chance of them ever winning this last battle.

She thrust her own blizzard spells at the giant bird's beak in daring urgency.

Suddenly, Valefor started reading an illuminating powerful blue fluorescence from the inside of its mouth.

It was slowly preparing its own counterattack.

The ball of light built up bigger and bigger until a grandiose magnificent energy ray of blistering bolts and sparks electrified the glistening power ball.

The end came at the blink of an eye.

The next thing Stella saw was this monumental bomb of nuclear energy engulfing every nerve cell in her body.

Her whole body burst into fire as her entire view and her wholesome existence were furiously blinded by heavenly light.

Matter, energy, life and reason seemed to precipitate into the unseen realm.

Radioactive particles and the laws of quantum physics were parting her tie with the life on this planet.

This… was the end.


	19. Chapter 19

Noctis and Stella walked in the starry and hollow dome that extended forever beyond their eye sight.

It seemed as if death existed outside the sphere of time and space.

All the earthly desires and obsessions of materialism and of things that can be seen or touched vanished out of recapture and awareness.

An eternal and endless astronomical space…

Indescribable vacuums of heavenly choir of divine purpose and will was all that was left.

Here, Noctis was no longer a prince.

Every title of his identity was stripped naked.

Noctis could not remember his past life in the unseen realm.

It seemed as if every joy and suffering on earth, just simply eradicated into non-existence.

The Goddess Etro was peering down at the two newest members of her Kingdom from her mighty throne.

She had known that they would come.

In fact, it was _she_ who led them here all along.

From the moment they were formed in their mother's womb, she had watched over them, she had guided them and set them apart to appoint them to become someone else entirely.

To her divine will, they were predestined to fulfill a purpose according to a historical prophecy; to share her vision of sensing the dead on earth grounds.

The Goddess could not be seen from Noctis and Stella's view.

Only her sovereign and omnipotent voice could be heard.

"You two don't belong here at this time. Now is not the moment for when I call you into the realm of the Dead… you two are to go back, to where you have bodily life and blood." The holy commands of Etro echoed through the black space like dynamic thunder.

"But nearing the realm of death to regain life comes at a price… my children; I beseech thee the gift of my eyes onto thee. But it will come at a terrible consequence… you two will not remember the days you have spent together nor will you remember any trace or reminders of each other's existence. You and your partner's name, face, voice, personality along with everything else will disappear into non-existence like dust in the wind. Once you have neared the unseen realm, once you have come an inch away from the doors of the underworld, you can no longer have the same life. As an after effect of renewing your souls to gain re-birth, you two will have my eyes. Therefore, I bestow upon thee, eyes that see the light of expiring souls. Although you two will not remember one another, you will still share a connected destiny. These pair of eyes will connect your souls together into one tangle of eternity." The Goddess gave an imperative for the two young souls to return back to earth, back to the physical world where they were no longer bounded by only spiritual elements of the universe.

Stella and Noctis's soul and body floated back into the surface of a world teaming with life.

The two were now separated in memory.

All the days and memories spent with each other, all the moments of when their eyes and hands met each other, all the words that they mouthed to each other were erased from each other's heads and hearts like a blank sheet of paper.

From this moment forth, to Noctis, there was no Stella.

Likewise… to Stella, there was no longer Noctis.

* * *

The rain drenched itself onto Noctis's whole body, so that the milky mud beneath him bathed him in a pool of icy water, brown dirt and green grass.

The water drops wet him like the melody of sad songs that poetically showered him in melancholy.

He opened his eyes at the speed of a snail as he witnessed that it was deadly dark midnight.

Noctis was still dizzy and unconscious, his thoughts and memories scattering everywhere like the cold night wind.

He thought he sensed another presence near him.

It was someone he couldn't quite recall at the top of his head.

His previous memories had left his mind entirely, robbing all events and emotions that led him to this moment.

Noctis raised his head with all his effort, his neck muscles straining him not to do so suddenly.

His body still ached all over.

It felt as if he had been stabbed with a thousand needles in nearly every joint and limb in his juvenile body.

When he finally managed to tilt his head high enough, he hazily spotted a blonde girl knocked out of her senses.

She was lying there on the muddy grass planes just meters away from where he lay.

Her white dress was dotted with dirt spurted in a soggy mess on her cotton laces.

Noctis could only make out the back of her thin body lying on the rainy dank lifelessly.

Whoever this girl was, he wanted to call out for help for both of them.

But his voice could only croak, no energy existed within his larynx to produce a cry loud enough for others to hear him.

He wanted to help this girl… this strange girl who was just as helpless as he was under the drizzling water drops.

Noctis had no idea who she could be or how they ended up here in the desolate fields together… it was as if his brain had been moistened into a saturated ocean under the soaking weather.

When Noctis opened his eye the second time, it was day breaking from the morning sun that shined upon his eyes.

The sky was now an orange pink hue, as if blood from the sun was spilt and smeared all over the sky.

The red sun was rising above from the ground as the pink light rays inked itself upon the endless green grassy field.

When the prince stood up, he could only see trees, rocks, plants and grass all around him.

He also realized that the girl who lay near him in the rain last night had also disappeared.

She had gone out of his notice, while he had fallen asleep in the wild plains.

He was all alone, isolated from any signs of civilization or infrastructure buildings.

Noctis encircled around the wild lands beneath the early morning sunrise.

He wanted to find anyone, anyone who could tell him where he was or why he ended up here.

"Noctis! Where are you?!" Noctis fully jumped out of his slumber position in surprise, as he heard his father's desperate voice crying out for his lost son from far away.

"Dad! I'm here! Where are you?!" Noctis shouted as he ran towards the source of his father's voice.

Noctis ran around the field, down the dirty muddy and rocky meadow through the tall forest trees and wild bushes.

His tall father was standing there with his striped black suit and leather gloved hand outstretched towards him.

Once Noctis grabbed onto his father's hand, his father embraced him tightly in his arms in a fatherly embrace.

"I was so worried about you son… I'm glad you're safe…" his father's voice was shaky, almost as if he was sobbing through Noctis's shoulders.

"We were all frantically searching for you two ever since you and Stella ran out of the party grounds during the Eidolon attack… no matter where we looked, we couldn't find you guys… where were you two?" the king stared at his dearly beloved son straight in the eye to check whether he was real.

Noctis held his tongue in dumbfounded silence for a long time…

He didn't understand the connection of the words in his father's question.

He couldn't quite connect the dots together at the directed inquiry.

"Dad… what are you on about…? What do you mean…? '_You two_'?" Noctis asked honestly.

"What…? What are _you_ on about Noctis? Pull yourself together…" the king gently slapped Noctis on his cheek to wake him up for higher alert.

"Why, I am referring to you and Stella of course… who else would I be referring to…?" the king replied just as puzzled as poor Noctis was.

The two of them stared at each other as if they were studying each other's faces for the first time.

Noctis was more than confused.

He didn't know who this 'Stella' was.

"Who's 'Stella'?" Noctis had no further clue on where this confusing conversation was headed to.

King Regis opened his mouth like a goldfish, thought for ten seconds in idiocy and then shut his mouth tight again.

A sudden flash of epiphany twinkled in his eyes.

The king sensed that Noctis wasn't in the mood for joking or being dishonest in a situation like this.

His son wasn't immature enough to play games with him... espeically not when Lucis royals was under attack just yesterday at one of the most important events in the nation's political history.

He knew that something bigger was at hand.

His son had either gone mental from a post-traumatic disorder or he had… _amnesia_…

The king had no further words to say to his son.

"Enough. We'll discuss this later. Please get back in the car. Everybody's waiting for you." The king ushered his star struck son back to the others.

As they were walking back, the king realized that Noctis should be hospitalized and receive some serious counseling.

* * *

"His test results for early symptoms of mental illness and his fMRI scans confirm the prince is perfectly normal sir." The female doctor in a white coat confirmed Noctis's medical check-up charts to the king.

The king had taken his son to the Lucis National Hospital.

His son needed professional medical help, not only from the nation's top doctors but also from its leading neuropsychologists.

"So… why can't he remember certain things before he fainted…?" the king felt that his son seemed more abnormal by the minute.

"He's not insane or mental in any way sir… he seems to have had his right hemisphere partially damaged due to the shock of the Eidolon attack, your majesty. The memories that led up to the events seems to have been impaired, out of some sort of post traumatic disorder. It is common for victims who went through a near-death experience to backfire cognitive side effects in the hippocampus. Victims often erase a remnant of their memoir that is most closely associated with the trauma. In other words, any object or person that triggers a distressful memory or event, is deliberately wiped out from the brain. You can say it is the brain's way of setting up a defense mechanism from psychic distress." The doctor explained various medical terms of Noctis's ill condition in an understandable comprehension.

"Does he have… _amnesia_?" the King asked his greatest fear.

A young prince who had lost everything in is head; his education, his identity and his relationships.

"No… it doesn't seem like a full-blown amnesia per se… we've tested him on various memory quizzes about his identity, his background and his social acquaintances… he is well aware of who he is, and who his family and friends are. He is also very adept at recalling other logical information, such as basic academic problem solving methods and facts… luckily, his intelligence and other memory unrelated to the trauma seem to be unharmed…" the doctor informed the king as his shoulders relaxed from its tense uphold.

"Let me go see him." The king entered the private hospital room where Noctis was staying in.

The pale face of the fear-stricken thirteen year old boy was shocked with chalk-white numbness in the well-lit hospital room.

His dull eyes had lost all focus and attentive fixture.

"Hey son… how are you doing?" the king sat himself on a stool by the hospital bedside.

"Hi dad… I'm doing fine… I guess… I just feel a little… out of it…" Noctis mumbled while staring into dead space.

"Like how exactly…? What parts are you having trouble with specifically?" King Regis asserted gently while he rubbed his son's shoulders in fatherly affection.

"Well… it's hard to pinpoint it… I just feel… _hollow_… as if a… hole was drilled into my brain… I recognized the boys and I know who I am… but… I feel as if… I left something… in the woods… I feel as if I just lost the other side of my shoe or something… like I've lost something important…" Noctis spoke like a robot that had its wire taken out of its engine system.

"And… you don't know what exactly this… _thing_ you have lost is…?" the king asked slowly.

"No… just that… it meant a lot to me… that is was a big part of me…" Noctis murmured.

"What do you remember about… the event… before you became… _unconscious_…?" King Regis gently directed his question.

"You mean… before I… fainted…?" Noctis replied blatantly.

"Yes." The king answered.

Noctis stayed silent on his bed, pulling his white sheets closer to his chest to warm himself up.

"I only remember… that… I was alone… to be honest… it just seems like my mind became an empty page… I can't… really recall what I did or what happened around me… since…" Noctis stayed baffled for another thirty seconds before he continued "since… the guests from Tenebrae were supposed to visit our castle…" Noctis whispered like a ghost.

"What…?" the king couldn't hold back the absurdity of what his son had just uttered.

What did he mean by not remembering a whole block of the last few weeks since the Tenebraes arrived…?

Had the trauma shocked him so intensely as to eradicate all interconnected thoughts related with it…?

Had he… erased _Stella_'s existence entirely like a bulldozer from his mind?

Was Noctis's amnesia even… natural…?

Could medical science explain the logic behind this madness of erasing an entire month, an entire event, an entire relationship and an entire person from memory…?

"Noctis… I want you to reply back under all circumstances with downright honesty to my next question… can you give me that?" his father requested of him one last final question.

"Yes father… go ahead." Noctis nodded obediently.

"Do you know… _Stella Nox Fleuret_?" His father delved straight forward into the question.

Noctis looked at King Regis directly in the eye without blinking "No… no father… I do not know a person… by the name of _Stella_… not that I can recall… why…?" there was no trace of lie or joke in his solid voice.

The king backed away from his son two steps back in disbelief.

His son was neither lying nor joking.

He was neither insane nor amnesic.

The king revisited every possible logic and answer he could rack in his experienced years of wisdom.

He knew the answer to this situation lay elsewhere.

It was no use consulting the doctors or psychologists.

This was a matter outside of science.

It was something much bigger than logic.

It was a happening that could not be explained by valid reasoning.

The king had one place to re-visit.

The answers lay in the secret lair of the Grand Library.


	20. Chapter 20

The king had a lot on his mind other than Noctis's partial amnesia, but his son concerned him most of all.

He was all that Noctis had left in the world.

Noctis had no other family, no mother to give him the warmth of a parent's love.

When it came to matters that concerned his son's welfare, Regis was no longer a king.

He was first and foremost a father, a father above all other ambition, duty and social title.

After the king realized that his son was borderline crazy, he had called upon Stella's parents to check whether she was suffering from something similar.

He had been so hung up on his own problems concerning the safety of his son and kingdom, that he had almost forgotten about what had happened to Stella.

It was only then that he had learnt of news that was just as mind-blowing as his son's latest abnormality.

Stella's father, the Duke of Tenebrae had unfortunately been brutally assaulted by one of the monsters during the Banquet invasion.

His thyroid cartilage was severely injured by a monster's bite.

The damage was too great to be cured, and news had arrived that Stella's father passed away just two hours ago in the emergency room.

Stella unlike Noctis had not awoken from her comatose state ever since she fainted during the incident.

King Regis, nor anybody else had any idea what _really_ happened to the two children during their escape.

It was strange how Noctis's all other memories were perfectly intact, while the parts related with the past few weeks had failed to be preserved completely.

His son had just skipped a whole month in fastfoward time motion, erasing the weeks of the Fleuret family's stay at Lucis.

It was as if, the past few weeks of Noctis's life never happened…

His mind simply travelled back in time, so that he had woken up in a different time.

To him, the last month never happened.

As far as he was concerned, he was still waiting for the Tenebraes to arrive on his castle doorstep.

* * *

Later that midnight, King Regis unlocked the secret room down in the Grand Library once again.

He started ransacking any files that could be related with symptoms similar to his son.

For the next few nights, the king spent many restless midnights stuck at the dark secret underground room, peering at hundreds of files that could lead him to figure out what his son was going through.

He had long occasional text messages from Noctis on his Smartphone such as:

* * *

_Hi dad… you seem a little on edge these days every time you come to visit…_

_Are you getting some rest?_

_You don't have to worry about me. Ignis, Prompto and Gladiolus always keep me company with card games and stuff. _

_Cor is too busy minding security issues, but he still texts me now and then._

_I'm starting to feel more alert and less tired as each day passes._

_Although… I do seem to be having some problems in the memory department… I feel sort of hypnotized, because I don't remember the past month…_

_I feel as though last month was yesterday… like I slept through everything in a plant state or something…_

_That scares me, but Ignis is really doing all he can to help me out…_

_He's researching online for any cognitive impairment that might be similar to mine and has reassured me that I'm not the only one who is suffering from something like this…_

_Apparently I'm not a unique specimen in terms of mental illnesses so don't worry too much about me dad._

_I've tried to keep track of what happened by watching the news via the television in my room._

_The Treaty Banquet attack was broadcasted and recorded live on camera._

_The media really did their job, documenting nearly every detailed scene of the assault like a blockbuster film… Bird's eye view video footages from the aerial helicopter and the like…_

_Makes me despise the press even more… but despite repeatedly watching the news, the video footages haven't triggered any memories of the event whatsoever for me…_

_As for the hospital food, it's disgusting… I rather prefer the green soup that our chef makes… that alone explains how much I hate the food around here._

_Can't wait to go back home after they figure out what is wrong with me… I hope I am not diagnosed with psychic disorders to end up in an asylum or in rehab for any longer._

_I miss you… hope I see you soon… I am very confused with everything... because even I don't know what is wrong with me..._

_Love your son, Noctis_

* * *

The doctors also set him long emails of well documented medical journals, drug prescriptions and records of his son's mental healing progress via his Smartphone.

The professional medical reports were summarized to the fact that the prince was perfectly normal in every other area of his psychology.

His body was slowly recovering from bruises, scars and wounds through white magic, cure potions and modern over the counter pills and ointments.

However, his recollection of his past month with the Tenebraes was hopelessly halted in time.

He had made no further progress on his ability to recall recognitions of anything that happened during the last month.

The neuropsychologists had shown Noctis photos of the Duke and Duchess of Tenebrae to see if Noctis would identify them, or whether their faces seem familiar to him, or whether it triggered a flashback, or perhaps recapture something in his past cognitive consciousness.

But the young boy simply swayed his head from side to side to deny that he knew or met such people in his life.

Finally, when the doctor had presented him a photo of Stella, Noctis sat dumbfounded on his bed in silence.

He stared at the direct photo shot of the strange pretty blonde girl with his mouth open and his eyes lost in sheer confusion.

Thirty seconds later, he replied with no further hesitation "I've never seen her in my life. I don't know this girl."

* * *

These sorts of lamentable reports had placed so much stress and worry on the king, that his own health was deteriorating as the days went by.

The king warned from early on to Noctis's friends concerning his son's recent amnesia.

He ordered Ignis, Prompto and Gladiolus to never mention Stella or the Fleuret family's name or existence ever again in front of Noctis.

He feared that if they forced the poor young prince to remember everything so abruptly all at once, it would do him no good in the long run.

They were worried he might eventually break down mentally or collapse into an anxious, irreversible and unstable insanity if he was continually reminded that he was abnormally forgetting certain things of his past life.

Noctis's friends faithfully abided the King's orders to never mention the Fleuret family in front of Noctis at all costs.

In this way, Noctis was recovering at a much quicker and hopeful rate.

* * *

On the twelfth day of the King's frantic search in the secret room, the king finally stumbled upon a file that answered everything by accident.

Due to the lack of progress, he had eventually stopped looking for files related with amnesia or memory loss and decided to switch his tactics to start skim reading unrelated articles at random.

Regis finally opened the 'Somnus Legend' document.

It was a photocopied blueprint of the ancient book.

He had grabbed the document in a hunch, out of some instinctive impulse that told him that all these happenings were not just mere coincidence.

They were all mysteriously interconnected, like the star constellations in the night sky.

When Stella first mentioned the Somnus Legend during their first encounter, the King had felt more uncomfortable than he had with any other child he had ever been with in his life.

A little insolent girl had asked of him to reveal the details on one of the most irreproachable subject in front of foreign diplomats.

Not only was he nearly shocked out of his seat by an insignificant little girl, but he also felt an invisible irritation at the wits of such a young little thing.

Regis breathed in deeply to discover the following page:

* * *

_**The Hidden Powers of the Crystal of Lucis**_

_The authorized ownership of the crystal belongs to the fate of those who were born from birth rights, to wield its power._

_They must be either the rightful heir to the throne of the crystal's dominion, or have to be blessed by a deity in order to wield such a power._

_**Stage One: Power of Combat**_

◦_The wielder is able to transport with the power of the crystal, to any place desirable (allocated within a reasonable distance)._

◦_The wielder can summon their weapon out of thin air, using the power of the warp system._

◦_The wielder can link forms of the multiple weapons in battle. They can either use these numerous weapons to float around them for defense usage, or switch between these weapons to their will for attacks._

_**Stage Two: Power of Etro**_

◦_If the wielder comes close to an event that threatens their life, which poses a threat to fulfill their given focus, the wielder and their lover will receive both a blessing and a curse from the Goddess Etro. The deity will predestine a meeting that is bound to be forgotten in memory. The memory shared between the wielder and their partner that shares the same destiny and focus, will be erased from each other's history. _

◦_Such memory loss is to make sure that the two pairs of the eyes of Etro are not used in communion. An alliance between the two fated souls will only result in tragedy, as the Sky of the Night's Light cannot be one with the Night Star Foil._

◦_If the wielder accepts their given destiny (the fate of the L'Cie) to witness the dead leaving this world and into the unseen realm, their memories of their star-crossed partner will return to normal. But as a consequence, Etro will further bestow a secondary power to their "eyes that see the light of expiring souls" to foresee a person's death. _

_**Stage Three (Final Stage): Power of Somnus**_

◦_The wielder is able to re-awaken the living dead._

* * *

During his second read, his eyes focused upon Stage Two of the crystal's power.

* * *

_**Stage Two: Power of Etro**_

◦_If the wielder comes close to an event that threatens their life, which poses a threat to fulfill their given focus, the wielder and their lover will receive both a blessing and a curse from the Goddess Etro. The deity will predestine a meeting that is bound to be forgotten in memory. __**The memory shared between the wielder and their partner that shares the same destiny and focus, will be erased from each other's history. **_

◦_Such memory loss is to make sure that the two pairs of the eyes of Etro are not used in communion. An alliance between the two fated souls will only result in tragedy, as the Sky of the Night's Light cannot be one with the Night Star Foil._

◦_If the wielder accepts their given destiny (the fate of the L'Cie) to witness the dead leaving this world and into the unseen realm, their memories of their star-crossed partner will return to normal. But as a consequence, Etro will further bestow a secondary power to their "eyes that see the light of expiring souls" to foresee a person's death. _

* * *

King Regis nearly dropped the file in the floor in mortal shock as he finally reached an epiphany.

This explained _everything_.

His son… along with Stella… was a… _L'Cie_.

What was worse was that Noctis and Stella weren't just the ordinary L'Cie recorded in history books.

They were predestined L'Cies of the Goddess Etro herself…

The L'Cies that had the eyes of Etro…

The L'Cies that were born to oppose each other… one L'Cie _versus_ the other…

The L'Cies that were prophesized to…

Bring the downfall of Lucis.


	21. Chapter 21

That night, King Regis suffered chronic insomnia.

He lay nervously awake in the dead night, worrying about all the possible disasters and scenarios that could go wrong for his son and his kingdom.

He never guessed in a million years that _he_ would be the king who would live to witness the prophecy of Etro come to life before his eyes.

Moreover, he never expected his own _son_ to be in the midst of it all.

Looking back now, there were little hints here and there that foreshadowed his son's tragic destiny.

For instance, the young prince was born under the same constellation sigh Eridanus, as Stella was born on.

They were both born on the same horoscope figure, whose legend mirrored and foreshadowed their own; a pair of ill-fated and star-crossed lovers bounded by fated will and tragedy from the deity.

The similarities they shared with the intertwined relationship between the first king of Lucis and Eridanus was uncanny, to say the very least.

Regis knew deep in his mind all along that his son acted very differently from the moment he laid his eyes on Stella.

He moved differently around her, more tensed and sensitive as if he were in the presence of a goddess that was too beautiful to meet eye to eye.

It was clear from the moment they met, that they had an invisible magnet between them, which pulled them closer to one another in unexplainable holy force.

But what bothered the king the most was what this connection was designed to bring about.

If they were indeed the predestined L'Cie, Stella would be like Eridanus; a beautiful femme fatale who would one day seduce Noctis into abandoning his sovereign calling for the sake of pursuing lustful desire and forbidden love.

King Regis knew not if one had the power to change the path of prophesied destiny, but he couldn't just lie there in bed and do nothing and watch his Kingdom fall to ash.

King Regis slept for only about an hour or two, when his mind allowed him to rest for a brief moment in peaceful slumber.

But when he awoke, a nightmare in reality awaited him.

An unprotected son, that was in imperial danger with a doomed fate.

King Regis pulled himself together to drive out of his castle in haste and entered the Lucis National Hospital.

He marched into the thirtieth floor of the tall building, to visit his son's private bedroom.

Noctis was lying on his bed, lazily watching the news on the television.

"Good morning Dad! What brings you here so early? It's only seven A.M." Noctis sat straight up from his bed in automatic response.

"Hey son… how are you feeling?" The king sat himself down beside the bed next to his son.

"Bored… But, other than that, I'm getting better… oh… and by the way, Idola Eldercapt from Niflheim came to pay his condolences… he brought those flowers over there as a gift to wish me recovery…" Noctis pointed to a vase of fresh bloody red roses with thorns as sharp as metal needles by his bedside.

Out of all the possible flowers that the leader of Niflheim could present to the heir of Lucis's throne, he brought Noctis roses as red and brooding as violent human blood.

They were indeed beautiful, a deep rich flaming fire color and texture that reflected the essence of crimson vampires, red lip sticks and grape wine.

The coral roses were alive as the newest spring floral blooms, as if they had been hand picked just moments ago.

The lively freshness of the roses conveyed that Idola had visited Noctis very recently.

"What did he come for…? He's never had any personal acquaintances with you, has he…?" The king inquired in an obvious suspicion meddled with puzzled wonder.

"No… I barely know him… so it was kind of awkward for me too… he basically asked me how I was doing... and then... he asked if the rumors were true whether I had… _amnesia_…" Noctis mumbled.

"What?" The king's pulse rate in his blood veins suddenly paralyzed.

His nerve cells blasted into anxiety and urgent terror.

News of Noctis's mental condition had traveled at the speed of light.

It had failed to stay confidentially protected.

"And what exactly did you tell him…?" the king demanded in nervous hurry.

"Why… I told him the truth dad… that I couldn't remember the past month… that it just slipped out of my mind as if someone had twinkled in out from my head… Why...?Dad…? Am I not meant to tell my visitors anything about my… _amnesia_?" Noctis's round eyes were confused.

"No… no… no… it's just that…" The king stuttered in bewildered stupidity as he finally sighed a heavy breath.

His son wouldn't possibly understand how trivial it was for him and everyone else to shut their mouths tightly about his memory implications.

Especially not to anyone who came from foreign borders, and most of all from Niflheim…

"Dad…?" Noctis snapped King Regis out of his miserable headache.

"Are you sure you're okay…? You have a serious frown on your face… is everything all right…?" His son asked with sincere worry creasing in his eyes.

"Yeah… I'm fine… don't worry about it… Listen… from now on, if anyone asks you about… _your condition_… just simply tell them that you're in good shape and that you are on the way to healing your wounds back to full health… it's best not to tell anyone about your… _amnesia_… for now… in case of media hype… Got that kid?" the king asserted his imperative tone onto his only beloved child.

"Ok… yeah… I get what you mean. The last thing I need is more cameras and ogling journalists on my bed side…" Noctis replied back gently.

"Good. Now get some more rest. I'll… um… bring a fairy tale about a legendary woman called Eridanus the next time I visit. It's time you need to hear that tale… _again_…" The king muttered the last word 'again' barely audible enough for him to hear it for only himself as he rose up from his stool.

"Ok… although… you do realize I'm a little too old for bed time stories now… don't you? I'm thirteen." Noctis reminded him shyly in good manner.

"No one's ever too old for a good story Noctis. Plus there are important morals in this tale… one you need to engrave into your heart." His father winked at him playfully.

Lord Regis kissed his only son on his forehead, ready to leave the door when Noctis interrupted his leave one last time.

"Oh… and dad…?" Noctis called after his father's back.

"Yes, son…?" the king turned around.

"Um… I thought I need to tell you something… while I was watching the news repetitively in my room out of boredom… I noticed something… Something that was hidden, but very disturbing on the news..." Noctis whispered quietly in fear.

"What is it Noctis?" the king's eyebrows rose above his eye line.

"It's just that… I saw… a _white hooded figure_ lurking behind the scenes in the Treaty Banquet. I only noticed him on my fifth or sixth viewing of the news footage… when the media crew recorded the invasion… he was… always there in the background all along… doing nothing… _watching_ people die and get hurt… So it got me wondering, did you invite any guests… with… a white hooded cloak above his head? I couldn't see his eyes… but… he was just always… _mysteriously present_ through the whole event… as if he were_ spying_ at us behind our backs…" Noctis breathed his dreadful worry into the depths of the king's eyes.

The king reflected upon his son's words.

He never invited a guest who would have his head unidentified and shadowed in a white hood.

Why would anyone invite such a stalking spy who would skulk in the background like a ghost…?

"No… not that I know of Noctis… perhaps… you're… confused… or reading too much into sub textual images… or maybe it was a prank of some sort… who knows? Either way, for now, let's just leave the issue. Try not to be caught up in such insignificant matters. Your mind is… _complicated_ enough as it is now… Have some decent rest son. And stop watching the news so much. Just watch your favorite TV show instead… like… the adventures of 'Squall Leonhart', your childhood favorite." The king joked as he closed the door behind him.

The king hadn't just come to check up on his son's safety.

He had other more important motives for putting his whole day schedule aside to visit the hospital on a personal basis.

He had come to see Stella.

Stella Nox Fleuret, the girl destined to become the enemy and lover of his son.

He was glad that Noctis wasn't aware that his future lover was hospitalized just two flows below him.


	22. Chapter 22

The king knocked on the patient's door softly.

"Come in." a young voice called back.

Stella was awake her bed, with a novel fashioned on her hands to read on her bed.

'Hello Stella… I am King Regis CXIII, the King of Lucis." The King gave his introductory greeting in polite courtesy to the ill girl as if they had just met for the first time.

Well technically to Stella, it _was_ the first time.

Stella put her book down immediately to give full respect and attention to the King that she had for so long admired through her schooling.

"It's ok. You should stay in bed; you don't need to get up from it to pay respect to me…" The king raised his hand to stop Stella from rising up from her bed to give a proper bow.

"Greetings your majesty… What brings your highness to a humble patient such as myself?" Stella put forth her most well-mannered humility.

"Ah… It's a long story… for now; let's have a little chat between you and me, shall we? You can relax comfortably on your bed while I ask a few questions… is that okay with you Stella?" the king asked politely as he sat beside Stella's white linen bed.

The bewildered blonde girl knew not of how or why the King of Lucis himself would personally visit her room, but she still nodded in agreement autonomously.

"Right… first of all… Do you recognize me…?" the king smiled at her in angelic politeness.

"Aside from… sources from academic textbooks and media, do you… have a feeling that you know me personally…?" The King stumbled on his words, not sure of how to slyly approach his motive without being too literal.

Stella blinked in confusion as she tried to disseminate the king's words into something understandable.

"I'm sorry my lord… I don't quite… understand your inquiry… Forgive my lack of comprehension." Stella apologized earnestly.

"No… you don't need to apologize Stella… it's not your fault… what I mean is… _Have you met me face to face before?_" The king was now direct and straight to the point, there was no need to beat around the bush with a girl who was suffering from amnesia.

Stella stared at the king directly in the eye in disorientation; her eyes studying his face in detail, her brain rummaging through her memory like a computer code, searching for any recollection of their past acquaintance.

"No sir, I haven't." like Noctis, there was no trace of dishonesty in the young girl's voice.

The king sighed deeply.

His worst predicted fear seemed to be painting itself truer as he collected more evidences to deny his concern.

The last hope of his theory proving wrong was shattered by the disappointing confirmation from Stella.

Stella too had amnesia.

She knew who King Regis was because he was a public figure.

But she had never had any experience of meeting him personally.

At least, not in _her_ memory.

If a psychologist investigated deeper into this bizarre happening, they would be lost for words at this unbelievable coincidence.

They _were_ Etro's L'Cie.

All doubt and hope raced out of Regis's mind as quick as the winds of May.

Regis pulled his senses together for further inquiry.

"Right… sorry about asking such a confusing question Stella… it's hard for me to explain…" the king apologized with a loss of energy.

"No, no, no, your majesty… I am not quite myself just yet… I just woke up from a prolonged coma last night… I'm still very disoriented because I never expected to wake up in a hospital… the doctor asked me a few things about my memory as soon as I woke up… and… I am well aware now that my memories aren't quite… up to scratch… they're _clouded_… That's the best I could put it…" she confessed shyly.

"So… the last memory you have is…?" The king forced upon her a hard perplexity very gently, as softly as the tender feathers of a baby bird.

"Well… I do remember… falling asleep in our family's car… mum and dad were in the front seat… I was at the back… I… fell asleep on the way to Lucis… We were visiting Lucis all the way from Tenebrae… That's the last thing I remember… my lord…" she whispered with eyes that lost focus in distant confound haziness.

Things were worse than previously thought.

It was not only that Noctis and Stella lost the same period of time frame in their memory.

They had lost it around the _exact_ same time.

Noctis said that the last thing he remembered before he awoke in the wild lands was that he was waiting for the Tenebraes to arrive.

The last snippet of memory in Stella's mind was on her _way_ to Lucis.

Etro had wiped out the exact same portion and period of memory, from beginning to end from both their minds simultaneously, so that neither of them ever existed to each to other.

"And… the next moment you can recall is…?" the king pushed deeper for her to spill more beans of the severity of her condition.

"Well… I do remember a hazy dream of some sort… I was… running… with a boy… on a field… but I don't know who he was…" she murmured in uncertainty, the confidence leaving her tone.

"And… you don't remember what he looked like…?" the King tried to trigger further into her remembering.

"Um… he was… wearing black… and he was about… my age… but other than that, I can't remember anything else…" she uttered with her eyes still in the clouds, her consciousness blurry and rigid.

King Regis was more than belatedly baffled… as well as shocked out of his wits.

Stella seemed to remember a little bit more than his son…

But the additional recollective detail made no difference in the big picture.

She was just as lost and clueless as Noctis was, as she had woken up in a hospital with no recollection as to how or why she got there.

Regis speculated that the doctors hadn't yet notified her of her father's death just yet.

Waking up to find that you had just skipped a whole month in hypnotic coma was mortifying enough.

If they had told her that her father died on the side line, the sudden shock might drive the poor little girl into suicidal insanity.

The unfortunate girl needed some time to recovery, until she was mentally and solidly strong enough to handle further distressing reality.

"Stella… has your… mother visited or contacted you yet…?" the King avoided meeting the little girl's round eyes.

"No sire… no not yet sir… the doctor has advised me not to renew my old contacts just yet… he said my mum is currently _preoccupied_ with certain matters… Although I don't really understand what that means…" she mumbled into her blanket sheets in unsettling worry.

"Yes… the doctors are right… it's best not to talk to too many people at the moment, even your own family… and it's best not to force yourself to remember everything all at once Stella. it will take a considerable amount of time for you to recollect your senses… even if the memory never comes back, it's okay. There will be people to help you recover back to normal…" King Regis wanted to tell her more.

He wanted to reassure her with all he could.

But he knew that to break any further truth or sympathy with her now would only make matters worse.

"Thank you Lord Regis… I don't know how I can thank you enough for visiting someone like me... I… I don't know what will happen to me now, but hopefully… it will all get better… someday…" she nervously stuttered as she dropped her eyes down onto her sheets.

"Time heals all wounds Stella… even the ones that seem incurable… have hope… I'll get going now Stella. I wish you the best of luck. Get well soon. I will come to visit you again if I have time…" the king got up to leave her on her own.

"Thank you King Regis… Before you go, do you mind me asking… Have we met before…? On a personal basis I mean…" Stella stared back at the king, curiosity lingering beneath all her nerves.

The king opened his mouth to deliver the truth to her.

But on second thought, he shut it tight to seal any further information from this girl.

He realized that if Stella and Noctis were indeed the prophesied L'Cie, then he and Stella too, were at the opposite ends of the spectrum from each other.

Although she was a harmless little child now, sooner or later she would grow to become the destined enemy, the opposing force that would threaten his kingdom.

Every information and truth was best kept under wraps from such a menacing potential.

"I'm afraid Stella… that we don't know each other well enough for me to answer that…" the king answered his reply in a slip-knot tangled disguise.

The king noticed Stella's flustered and muddled expression before he turned the door knob open.

He managed to see one other distracting detail in the room.

He noticed a vase of fresh red roses on Stella's bedside table.

They were the same bloody roses as the flowers in his son's hospital room.


	23. Chapter 23

"Where to next, sire?" the driver asked as the king seated and buckled himself inside the black limousine.

"To Uncle Cid's mansion." He ordered sternly.

"Uncle Cid...? You mean… the isolated mansion near the lake mountains outside Lucis boundaries?" the old driver asked in surprise.

King Regis's personal driver had driven the king for nearly three decades.

He was well acquainted with the fact that the king rarely visited his older brother…

Well not since…

"Yes the very one. He's still living there. Off we go please." The king rested his eyes to rest on the window sill as the limousine left the hospital on to the speedy highway road.

The limousine swift past the metropolitan traffic jams and onto the wild lands that spanned empty plains and hills for a long duration.

When the king opened his eyes, the driver had stopped the car on dark brooding grounds.

Dark evening had crept itself over in time to cast misty shadows over the sun.

Black widow trees without lifeless leaves and flowers expanded the empty isolated forest.

Its moody branches entangled around each other like an evil witch's forest.

The high mountains towered above near the great solitude lake.

The air was chilly around here.

Quietness dominated the blackish scenery in cold manner.

Only occasional croaking from black scarecrows entered the king's ears as he peered out from his car window.

A mansion as gothic and worn down as an ancient vampire's castle solidified in the midst of the natural landscape.

The mansion was jailed inside a tall spiky metal fence that surrounded its spacious garden and building in total confinement.

There was nothing bright or alive here, only dead marshes, murky deep lakes, spiky ivy vine leaves and sharp dead roses.

"Who's there?" the security alarm system buzzed out a vibrating sound alarm.

It was built onto the front entrance at the edge of the fence.

It demanded to know who the newest intruder was.

The emotionless voice of a middle-aged man commanded an answer from the limousine that rolled near its fence borders.

"It's me… Regis… your younger brother… I came for an emergency… we need to talk Cid… face to face…" the king expressed his greeting with lackluster effort.

He was obviously not too pleased to renew their brotherly reunion.

The speaker was silent for a moment before it fumed out the next words through its electronic wires "_Regis_…? Is that… really _you_…? It's… been a long time… yes… do come in… I'll be out in a second…"

The double entrance door made of metal black spiky poles opened automatically as the car drove deeper into the mansion's frontier.

When King Regis got out of the car, Uncle Cid was waiting for him just outside of the front door in his red bathrobe.

In terms of physical appearances, no one would have doubted that they were brothers.

Uncle Cid had the same resembling hair color, the identical dark blue grayish hair slicked back towards the crown of his head.

His eyes however, were a hazel brown, and slightly less softly defined in terms of the eye shape than his brother.

He had a short well-trimmed beard that extended to the tip of his jaw line from the groomed moustache on his cupid's bow.

"Regis… it's… very unexpected of you to come all the way out here… but nevertheless… I am glad to see you… how many years has it been…?" Uncle Cid greeted his brother as if he were an uncomfortable acquaintance.

There was no sign of brotherly affection between either of them.

No sign of enthusiasm or gladness to see one another existed, even after the many years of disconnection that separated them apart.

"Yes… I'm sorry… for not notifying you earlier of my arrival… it's been over seven years Cid…" The king reached out his hand for a simple handshake as his sign of mannerly ovation.

Uncle Cid took up the handshake in welcome "Let's speak inside… I was just about to have dinner… perfect timing Regis… you were always right on cue with everything ever since you were little…" Uncle Cid ushered his unfriendly brother into his mysterious mansion.

* * *

Uncle Cid had prepared his usual favorite; cheesy lasagna along with chunky meatballs.

Unlike Regis, Uncle Cid had no personal chefs or waiters in his kitchen.

He only had a certain set of servants; some security managers, a gardener, cleaners and his personal employees for his illegal business.

He was the type of man who would rather work solo, rather than putting his trust to rely on others for help.

Uncle Cid was the type of man who preferred to cook and eat his meals alone.

The only times he came close to contact with others for social communication was with his advisors and builders.

Although Uncle Cid was the first-born and the legitimate heir to the throne of Lucis, his own passions and dreams of architecture had let him astray to disobey his father's expectations to run off and pursue his individual career path.

He spent most of his years sketching, designing, building and modeling various military airships of all shapes and sizes.

But his obsession with perfectionism and his workaholic obsession drove him into solitude and isolation into the remotely segregated mountainside by the lake.

Until seven years ago, he was Lucis's top national director in military airship architectural affairs.

He was the country's top battle aircraft architect.

He was skilled in all aspects of his majoring profession that King Regis relied on no one else but him.

Their brotherly bond was as strong and firm as the roots of a century old oak tree in rich soil.

All that trust and faith they had in each other had been bombed into smithereens by a certain women.

Noctis's mother.

"I Hope you still find my cooking skills eatable Regis… you used to love them when you were little… but you know, when times change and when your appetite gets accustomed to the nation's top chefs… your taste buds are never quite the same…" Uncle Cid's earnest attempt to break the ice paid off as Regis chuckled in response joyfully.

"They're still good… you're a good cook Cid… always was… no amount of time passing will change that." Regis smiled at his brother as he chewed the cheesy lasagna.

The candles in the dark dining hall were the only light that illuminated their faces.

It was a lonely night, there was no sense of touchy embrace or emotional elation that glued their half-hearted reunion.

Uncle Cid's dining hall was the opposite of the one in Regis's castle.

The floors were dirty and rugged while the corners of the wooden dining table were moldy and worn out.

Regis could not make out anything else in this pitch black room.

It seemed as if Cid liked having his meals in the dark, with his grey curtains shut tightly to block out any light and view of the outside world.

There were no other people near within ear's reach, as far as Regis could make out.

Only a bottle of red wine managed to ease the tension between their awkward relationship.

After Regis was uplifted with a few glasses of alcohol, his warm mood urged him to get straight to the bottom of his purpose for coming out of his ways to visit his distrustful brother.

"Cid… I came here not to chat casually or to talk about our mistakes in the past… I came here because of a much more serious issue… a dire problem if you will…" the king whispered his words quietly and slowly.

Cid conjured up his seriousness to listen to his brother in more intimate fashion.

"Go on." urged Uncle Cid.

"Right… it's… about… Noctis… He's… got himself involved in a very… _life-threatening situation_…it's a very long intricacy, and if I were to explain the story in full detail, we would be here all day… To cut it short, he has put himself and our kingdom in serious danger… and I have come here to ask for your help, Cid. My brother… although we may have our own problems between us… in times like this we must abide by our patriot duties… to initiate… _Operation Ragnarök." _The king muttered in a hushed uneasiness.

His brother stopped eating as if the food had just been poisoned with the last words that Regis uttered.

"_Operation Ragnarok…?_" He stammered back in fear, unable to believe in his own lips murmuring those taboo words.

"Yes… you know why... the prophecy that our father warned us about on our eighteenth birthday… is coming true... at our time… in fact, you learnt of the prophecy a year ahead of me Cid… our duty was that if ever Etro's prophecy was to be fulfilled during our reign, then we are given no choice but to instigate Operation Ragnorak… I know it is hard to believe this at first Cid… I too, couldn't believe in this reality for a while… I didn't want to believe it was true… How could I, when my own and only son was at the centre of it all…? But now, I've come to accept our reality for what it is… Like it or not, the prophecy will happen… and it will happen in our life time… what we need to do now… what we _can_ do to prepare for the upcoming catastrophe is to give Noctis all the support we can to help him bear the burden and weight of this doom on his shoulders… that is why, Cid… I am sincerely asking of you to build Noctis a ship. An airship, just like the ones you build for sky pirates… A grand battle ship for sky attack, defense and war, ready for him by his eighteenth birthday…" Regis asked his brother a favor too desperate to ignore.

"You mean… the boy… Noctis… the kid's… like the… _main_ propeller of the prophecy…?" Uncle Cid asked in horror.

"Yes… Trust me… it was hard for me to believe it at first… but I had to accept the cold harsh truth… I am the boy's father, but I am also the ruler of a country… I cannot let my parental emotions override my military decisions at the cost of our country's defense. Noctis… is a L'Cie… A L'Cie predisposed by the Goddess Etro herself… But... the apocalypse is much more complicated… he's been assigned an enemy… same age, same power, same destiny… but she's from a different country… worst of all, the designated opponent we speak of was predestined to be Noctis's weakness… his Femme Fatale… just like Eridanus was to our first father…" King Regis reminded him of the old tale in case he had forgotten overtime.

"I remember the myth as well as my own name Regis… it was beaten into my old brain just as tediously as it was to yours… but I cannot… _comprehend_… that out of all historical time periods, the oracle is being fulfilled at _our_ time… I… just never thought… that I would be the one to witness such chaos in my lifetime…" Uncle Cid mumbled in disbelief as he fixed his confused eyes on the table, looking away from his brother.

The two brothers had now dropped their forks on the dim-lit wooden table that sparkled only the firy candle light.

The candle's white wax was melting and oozing down in slow motion, the tension in the room now almost as hot as the fire on the wick.

"Is… the boy… going to… _survive_ this prophecy…?" he asked woefully.

"Well… as you know Cid… the ending page of the book that foretells this foretold revelation is ripped and there are no other clues as to how this prophecy ends… the only gaps that we can fill in is that whatever happens, we have to do all we can to give Noctis whatever chance he has to survive through it all… that is why Operation Ragnarök must be launched as soon as possible Cid… we need the new warfare machine of the sky Cid, and I want you to build it for me, for Noctis… we need it ready to set flight before his eighteenth birthday…" King Regis pleaded to his brother earnestly, with all the subjugation and humility that he could ever muster to save his son.

Uncle Cid raised an eyebrow and then frowned in scrutiny shortly afterwards "You know I don't build airships, airlines, jets, helicopters or any of the like for the country anymore Regis… my hands surrendered off that area a long time ago… I thought I was officially stripped of all my rights and titles from building military weapons and aircrafts ever again Regis… From _you_ personally, exactly seven years ago…"

"That is… all in the past now… that should be all forgotten during these indispensible hours… my brother… let us focus on the more important matters... national threat is knocking at our doorsteps at this very hour... I ask of you this great favor as a king and as a brother, as my final request… please… help me save my son… we both know that you are the best architect we have, who knows weaponry airships more than anyone else in Lucis. You are our finest… and… we need you, to commence Operation Ragnarok… Remember what our father told us, Cid. Remember his dying wish… for our brotherly bonds to outlast even the toughest of times and circumstances… if you cannot do this for me or Noctis, do it for our father, and our country…" The king had abandoned all his personal pride and ego aside to lay himself down for his request.

Regis was sitting on the dining table with wet eyes firmed in criticality.

"Regis… even if we do put all our past and personal _mistakes_ aside… I still don't know how I would be able to construct Ragnarök from scratch… it takes much more than five years to engineer an airship as massive and powerful as Ragnarök Regis… it would take a team of ten times more than my own staff. Although they are highly skilled, we are still an underground unit… we build illegal robust airships for sky pirates and gangsters… we don't have the license or the equipment or facility or money or manpower to build something as mighty as Ragnarok…" The weary architect confessed his doubt in a sullen manner.

"I will give you everything that you need to complete this operation Cid… I will dispatch more builders, workers, designers and money for this project, should you accept it. Moreover, there is no one else who is more perfect for this task _because_ of your unlicensed crew. The whole point of Operation Ragnarök was that it was a survival strategy that would also be Lucis's last and greatest weapon. The project has to be kept strictly undercover and confidential, from all foreign, public, national and media attention. As far as the public is aware, you retired from your possession a long time ago and since, Lucis's military construction and engineering advancements have plummeted to an all time low. Should you take up the project in secret headquarters, our project will remain safely undetected. As for the time constraints, we will need to vigorously speed up the process of Operation Ragnarök at a much faster rate with a more expansive crew and labor. This is a matter of national security Cid… even if five years are all we have left, we have no choice but to start it as soon as possible…" the king declared in seriousness that was sharp enough to drill a hole into the toughest metals.

"Will you please… accept this request… this offer… brother…?" Regis petitioned once more.

"Well… you're giving me no choice _but_ to accept it Regis… Suddenly barging into my mansion like that and informing me that our country's doom is near at hand… What do you expect me to say…? No…?" Cid challenged in irony.

"So… you… accept…?" Regis approached his appeal carefully once again.

"Yes… But not for your sake or for the boy's… I'm doing it for our father… Because I swore my own life on the promise many years ago…" Cid sighed.

"Thank you Cid… As of tonight, we work together again… as of this moment, Operation Ragnarök is inaugurated." Regis stood up from the table to deliver his military salutation to his brother, a code of royal conduct to begin Lucis's most potent military movement in history.

Uncle Cid nodded his head in agreement and then mimicked the salutation in the shadowed night.

The Caelum brothers had reunited for war.


End file.
